{"id":6006,"date":"2026-04-20T12:00:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T06:30:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/blew-a-hole-in-engine-room-how-us-forces-seized-iranian-ship-touska-after-six-hour-standoff-watch\/"},"modified":"2026-04-20T12:00:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T06:30:22","slug":"blew-a-hole-in-engine-room-how-us-forces-seized-iranian-ship-touska-after-six-hour-standoff-watch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/blew-a-hole-in-engine-room-how-us-forces-seized-iranian-ship-touska-after-six-hour-standoff-watch\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Blew a hole in engine room&#8217;: How US forces seized Iranian ship &#8216;Touska&#8217; after six-hour standoff &#8211; watch"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>US forces early Monday seized an Iranian-flagged cargo vessel in a high-risk operation in the Arabian Sea, with dramatic visuals released by US Central Command (CENTCOM) showing Marines rappelling onto the ship after it was disabled by naval fire.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"2\"\/>According to CENTCOM, the interception took place on April 19 when the guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance tracked the vessel, identified as the M\/V Touska, as it sailed towards Bandar Abbas at speed. The ship was accused of attempting to breach a US-imposed naval blockade on Iranian ports, part of a broader escalation in the Gulf region.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"4\"\/><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"6\"\/>CENTCOM said American forces issued repeated warnings to the crew over a six-hour period, informing them they were in violation of the blockade. <!-- -->When the vessel failed to comply, the destroyer took decisive action.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"11\"\/><span class=\"strong\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">Also read: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/world\/middle-east\/us-seizes-iranian-vessel-in-hormuz-iran-warns-retaliation-soon-what-we-know\/articleshow\/130380036.cms\" styleobj=\"[object Object]\" class=\"strong\" commonstate=\"[object Object]\" frmappuse=\"1\">US seizes Iranian vessel in Hormuz; Iran vows &#8216;retaliation soon&#8217; \u2014 what we know<\/a><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"14\"\/><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"15\"\/>\u201cSpruance disabled Touska\u2019s propulsion by firing several rounds from the destroyer\u2019s 5-inch MK 45 Gun into Touska\u2019s engine room,\u201d CENTCOM said in a statement shared on social media.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"17\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>Airborne boarding caught on camera<br \/><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"19\"\/>Following the strike, US Marines launched a coordinated boarding operation from the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli. Footage released by CENTCOM shows troops flying over the Arabian Sea by helicopter before rappelling down onto the deck of the disabled vessel.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"22\"\/>The images capture the precision and speed of the assault, with Marines securing the ship after it was rendered immobile. The crew had earlier been instructed to evacuate the engine room before it was targeted.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"24\"\/><span class=\"strong\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">Also read: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/world\/middle-east\/prepared-to-disable-you-moment-us-intercepts-iranian-cargo-ship-in-strait-of-hormuz-watch\/articleshow\/130380637.cms\" styleobj=\"[object Object]\" class=\"strong\" commonstate=\"[object Object]\" frmappuse=\"1\">Moment US intercepts Iranian cargo ship in Strait of Hormuz <\/a><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"27\"\/><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"28\"\/>CENTCOM confirmed that the vessel is now in US custody after the \u201cnon-compliant\u201d ship was successfully boarded and seized.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"30\"\/>US President Donald Trump also weighed in on the operation, describing it in blunt terms on social media. <!-- -->He said the Navy \u201cstopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engineroom\u201d and added that US forces were now \u201cseeing what\u2019s on board\u201d.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"34\"\/>It remains unclear whether there were any casualties during the operation, and CENTCOM has not provided further details on the condition of the crew.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"36\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>Heightened tensions as ceasefire hangs by thread<br \/><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"38\"\/>The incident marks the first such interception since the United States launched its blockade of Iranian ports last week, and it has already triggered a sharp response from Tehran.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"41\"\/>Iran\u2019s joint military command condemned the seizure as an act of \u201cpiracy\u201d and a violation of an already fragile ceasefire, warning that it would respond. Reports from Iranian media suggest drones were launched in the direction of US military vessels following the incident.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"43\"\/>The timing of the operation has added to uncertainty surrounding planned diplomatic efforts. President Trump had earlier announced that US negotiators would travel to Pakistan for a new round of talks with Iran, but Iranian state media indicated there are currently no plans to participate.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"46\"\/>The standoff is centred on control of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global shipping route through which roughly a fifth of the world\u2019s oil supply passes. Iran has warned it may continue to restrict access, signalling that \u201cthe choice is clear: either a free oil market for all, or the risk of significant costs for everyone\u201d.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"48\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/defence\/international\/blew-a-hole-in-engine-room-how-us-forces-seized-iranian-ship-touska-after-six-hour-standoff-watch\/articleshow\/130383947.cms\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>US forces early Monday seized an Iranian-flagged cargo vessel in a high-risk operation in the Arabian Sea, with dramatic visuals released by US Central Command (CENTCOM) showing Marines rappelling onto the ship after it was disabled by naval fire.According to CENTCOM, the interception took place on April 19 when the guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance tracked [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6007,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[299],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-6006","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-latest-news"},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6006","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6006"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6006\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6007"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6006"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6006"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6006"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}