U.S. seizes ship

U.S. forces seized the Iranian-flagged cargo ship *MV Touska* on April 19 after disabling it near the Strait of Hormuz, opening a new flashpoint at sea. (apnews.com) The U.S. military said the destroyer USS *Spruance* intercepted the vessel in the Gulf of Oman as it headed toward Bandar Abbas, Iran, and fired 5-inch gun rounds into the engine area after warning the crew to leave that compartment. Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit then boarded the ship. (news.usni.org) The ship, identified by U.S. officials as *Touska* with International Maritime Organization number 9328900, was described as Iranian-flagged and under U.S. sanctions. AP reported Tehran then vowed a swift response. (news.usni.org) (apnews.com) The seizure landed in the world’s busiest oil chokepoint. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said the Strait of Hormuz carried about 20 million barrels a day in 2024, equal to roughly 20% of global petroleum liquids consumption. (eia.gov) That traffic concentration helps explain the market reaction. Anadolu Agency reported Brent crude traded near $104 a barrel on April 23, up about 2% as traders weighed shipping disruption in Hormuz and uncertainty around a U.S.-Iran ceasefire. (aa.com.tr) The operation also marked a shift in enforcement. USNI, citing U.S. Central Command, said naval forces had previously ordered 25 commercial vessels to turn around under the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports, but *Touska* was the first Iranian-linked ship the United States had fired on and seized in this phase of the crisis. (news.usni.org) Hormuz is narrow enough that even limited naval action can snarl shipping. The International Energy Agency says the waterway is 29 nautical miles wide at its narrowest point, with 2-mile-wide shipping lanes for inbound and outbound traffic. (iea.org) The latest clash followed days of dueling moves around the strait. USNI reported Iran had reimposed crossing restrictions, then declared the strait closed again after accusing Washington of violating a two-week ceasefire by maintaining the blockade and then seizing *Touska*. (news.usni.org) For now, the ship seizure has done more than stop one cargo run. It has tied U.S.-Iran military pressure, ceasefire diplomacy and oil-price risk to the same stretch of water off Iran’s coast. (apnews.com) (eia.gov)