CENTCOM orders 39 vessels reroute
- U.S. Marines boarded the commercial ship M/V Blue Star III in the Arabian Sea on April 28, then released it after a search. - U.S. Central Command said the vessel was suspected of trying to reach Iran, and said 39 ships have now been redirected. - The boarding came during a U.S. blockade on ships using Iranian ports that began April 14. (gcaptain.com)
U.S. Marines boarded the commercial ship M/V Blue Star III in the Arabian Sea on April 28 after U.S. Central Command said it suspected the vessel was heading to Iran. The ship was released after a search found no Iranian port call in its voyage plan. (gcaptain.com) (maritime-executive.com) CENTCOM said Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit carried out the boarding. The command said 39 vessels have now been redirected since the blockade began. (gcaptain.com) (defconlevel.com) The vessel was identified as Blue Star 3, a small containership of about 4,259 deadweight tons. The Maritime Executive reported it was operating as a stateless ship when U.S. forces intercepted it. (maritime-executive.com) This happened under a U.S. blockade announced on April 12 and enforced starting April 14 against ships entering or leaving Iranian ports. CENTCOM said the order applies across the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, while allowing transit to non-Iranian ports. (gcaptain.com) (navytimes.com) The running count has climbed quickly. CENTCOM said six ships complied in the first 24 hours, 19 had complied by April 17, 25 by April 19, 28 by April 21, and 33 by April 23. (gcaptain.com 1) (gcaptain.com 2) (centcom.mil) (middleeastmonitor.com 1) (middleeastmonitor.com 2) CENTCOM has also publicized harder enforcement steps. On April 19, it said USS Spruance intercepted the Iranian-flagged cargo vessel M/V Touska as it headed toward Bandar Abbas and said U.S. forces disabled the ship after warnings. (centcom.mil) Shipping outlets have reported that some tankers and merchant ships are rerouting while others continue transiting the Strait of Hormuz if they are not calling at Iranian ports. CENTCOM has said it will not impede freedom of navigation for non-Iran traffic. (gulfnews.com) (gcaptain.com) The Blue Star III boarding showed the current rule in practice: U.S. forces stop ships they suspect are bound for Iran, search them, and let them continue if the voyage does not include an Iranian port. CENTCOM’s latest public count puts that campaign at 39 redirected vessels. (gcaptain.com) (maritime-executive.com)
