Launching from the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli, a strike force fast-roped from Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawk helicopters to seize the Iranian-flagged vessel.
Commandos from the US Marine Corps have seized an Iranian-flagged container ship in the Arabian Sea.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed the operation, saying the Marines flew from the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli via helicopter on 19 April to board and seize the M/V Touska.
Video shared by CENTCOM shows troops rappelling from hovering Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawks to the deck of the Touska. It was not disclosed how many aircraft and personnel were involved in the operation but at least two MH-60Rs are seen in the footage – one deploying troops and another orbiting the ship.
CENTCOM says the Touska’s propulsion system was disabled by the guided missile destroyer USS Spruance “when the commercial ship failed to comply with repeated warnings from US forces over a six-hour period.”
A separate video posted by the Pentagon on 19 April shows the US Navy destroyer intercepting the Iranian vessel at sea, with an American radio operator ordering the crew of the Touska to “vacate your engine room”.
“We are prepared to subject you to disabling fire,” the sailor declared.
The edited video then shows the Spruance firing several shots from the destroyer’s 127mm (5in) main gun toward the Touska.
U.S. Marines depart amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli (LHA 7) by helicopter and transit over the Arabian Sea to board and seize M/V Touska. The Marines rappelled onto the Iranian-flagged vessel, April 19, after guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance (DDG 111) disabled Touska’s… pic.twitter.com/mFxI5RzYCS
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) April 20, 2026
Ship tracking website MarineTraffic.com shows the last known location of the Touska as just off the coast of Gowadar Bay, which straddles the Iran-Pakistan border. Tracking data indicates the vessel departed from Port Klang in Malaysia on 12 April for the city of Bandar Abbas on the southern Iranian coast.
The status of the ship is listed as “Not Under Command”.
The carrier fleet tracking system operated by the US Naval Institute’s news service shows the USS Tripoli as operating in the Arabian Sea as of 13 April. The flattop assault ship, which can carry helicopters and jump-jet fighters, is operating in the vicinity of the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group.
Washington earlier this month declared a blockade of ships entering and leaving Iranian ports, including those in the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman. The move came after a US bombing campaign incited Tehran to close the Strait of Hormuz, which lies between those bodies of water.
Further US military action against Iran failed to reopen the strait, as have negotiations in Pakistan between US and Iranian officials.
The Strait of Hormuz has oscillated between open and closed throughout the past week as various diplomatic and military efforts play out.
The Pentagon says US forces have “directed 25 commercial vessels to turn around or return to an Iranian port” since the American blockade began.
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