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CENTCOM reported on May 30 that U.S. forces had disabled a small cargo ship on May 29 that it asserted had ignored warnings and was heading toward an Iranian port. The ship is reported to be adrift, but the U.S. has not boarded it, sources told the Associated Press.
The vessel is the Liam Star, a 1,600 dwt general cargo ship registered in Gambia. Its owners are listed as being in the UAE, and the ship, which was built in 1993, is 71 meters (233 feet) in length.
"A U.S. aircraft disabled the vessel by firing a Hellfire missile into the ship's engine room," CENTCOM said in a brief statement issued on Saturday. They asserted that the crew had failed to comply with U.S. instructions.
According to the report, U.S. forces issued more than 20 warnings while informing the vessel that it was in violation of the U.S. blockade. The ship's AIS signal was reporting that it was sailing from Pakistan to Iraq.
The interception came as Donald Trump was posting on social media on Friday, saying the blockade, "which will now be lifted," was ending. He said that ships stuck in the Persian Gulf "may start the process" of heading home.
CENTCOM said as of Saturday, it has now redirected 116 vessels. AP reported that, so far, the U.S. military has stopped a total of six ships trying to breach the blockade. CENTCOM had previously cited four ships that it disabled as part of the enforcement efforts. The blockade began on April 17 as the U.S. looked to increase the economic pressures on Iran.
Earlier in the day on Friday, before a meeting with advisers in the Situation Room, Trump had said he was going to make a "final determination" on an agreement that reports said would extend the ceasefire with Iran for 60 days. Trump listed a series of demands, including that Iran would never have a nuclear weapon, that the Strait of Hormuz had to be open for unrestricted shipping traffic without tolls, and that Iran would destroy or remove the last of the mines. He also said the U.S. would be digging out the enriched uranium from the undergrown stockpiles in Iran and destroying it while working with the International Atomic Energy Agency. He said no money "will be exchanged, until further notice." There was no mention of relaxing the sanctions on Iran.
The White House issued a brief statement Friday evening, only saying that the Situation Room meeting had concluded. Iran continued to assert that there was no deal.
Fuente: The Maritime Executive
