Photos Show San Diego Warships Enforcing Iran Blockade

U.S. Central Command has released new photos showing San Diego-based warships operating off Iran as the Navy enforces a blockade that began April 13. (timesofsandiego.com) One image shows the littoral combat ship USS Canberra patrolling in the Arabian Sea near Iran’s coast. Another shows a Marine aboard the amphibious transport dock USS New Orleans monitoring commercial traffic during blockade operations. (timesofsandiego.com) CENTCOM said on April 12 that it would begin blocking “all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports” at 10 a.m. Eastern on April 13. The command said the order covers Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, but does not block ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz to non-Iranian ports. (centcom.mil) By April 18, CENTCOM said 23 ships had complied with U.S. orders to turn around rather than cross the blockade line. The same CENTCOM update identified Canberra as one of the ships on patrol. (centcom.mil; wsj.com) The photos land as San Diego’s fleet is taking a larger role in the Middle East campaign tied to Operation Epic Fury. The San Diego Union-Tribune reported on April 14 that three San Diego warships were already helping enforce the blockade, with more forces expected in the region. (sandiegouniontribune.com; timesofsandiego.com) Canberra’s San Diego ties are direct: the Navy says the ship is homeported at Naval Base San Diego as part of Littoral Combat Ship Squadron One. The service describes the vessel as an Independence-variant littoral combat ship built for near-shore and open-ocean missions. (surfpac.navy.mil) The blockade followed a separate April 11 mission to clear mines from the Strait of Hormuz, when the destroyers USS Frank E. Peterson and USS Michael Murphy transited the waterway under CENTCOM orders. CENTCOM called the strait an “essential trade corridor” and said additional forces, including underwater drones, would join the clearance effort. (centcom.mil) For San Diego, the new images put local hull numbers and crews at the center of a fast-moving regional operation. The photos do not change the policy, but they make the city’s role in that policy harder to miss. (timesofsandiego.com)