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The ship was not a tanker, and it does not appear to be under sanctions. The Huda is a dry bulk carrier of 24,993 deadweight tonnes, built in 1999, 159 meters long and under Turkish management, registered in St. Kitts and Nevis, according to The Maritime Executive.
That detail matters for how wide the enforcement reaches. The months-long US naval blockade of Iran is being applied to ordinary dry cargo leaving Iranian ports, not only to the tankers that carry Iranian crude.
The status of the crew is unknown. UK Maritime Trade Operations placed the vessel about 18 nautical miles east of Khor Fakkan in the United Arab Emirates.
Key numbers
- 5 commercial vessels disabled since the blockade restarted in mid-July, with 147 ships redirected and 10 tankers destroyed earlier, according to US Central Command
- $25 billion of crude oil exports that Central Command estimates the blockade has prevented Iran from making
- 133 vessels damaged in the region so far this year, with 82 injuries or fatalities, on UKMTO's tally
- 11 confirmed attacks in the region counted by UKMTO in the first days of November and the last days of October combined
What Central Command says happened
A US military aircraft fired precision munitions at the stern of the Huda on Saturday, disabling it, after US forces directed the crew to abandon the targeted spaces, Central Command said in a statement relayed by gCaptain, citing Reuters. Central Command said the civilian crew had ignored repeated warnings and tried more than once to violate the blockade. Video released by the command shows an explosion at the stern.
The last such strike reported by the US was on October 10, against the bulker Ocean Molica, also in the Gulf of Oman and also, the US said, after the ship ignored commands on leaving an Iranian port.
On the same day as Saturday's strike, the US military said it is launching a task force aimed at Iran's movement of advanced weapons and other sanctioned material across its land borders and through the Caspian Sea.
Why a blockade on one country's ports reaches the oil market
In plain words: a naval blockade keeps cargo from leaving a country's ports, so barrels that would have been loaded and sold stay where they are. Fewer barrels offered to buyers is the first link to the oil price. The second is the shipping route itself: the Gulf of Oman sits at the eastern mouth of the Strait of Hormuz, the channel through which a large share of seaborne crude leaves the Gulf, and owners price the risk of sailing it.
US President Donald Trump has been threatening a new offensive against Iran, and Tehran has threatened broad retaliation against Gulf infrastructure, putting countries in the region on edge, Reuters reported. Iran issues daily reports claiming that multiple vessels have struck mines in the Strait of Hormuz, according to The Maritime Executive.
What is not confirmed
Neither of the reports I went through says whether anyone aboard the Huda was hurt, and neither gives the ship's cargo or its destination. The Iranian mine claims are Iran's own account and are not independently confirmed. UKMTO's figures cover confirmed attacks and damage; they do not attribute them.
The vessel counts, the $25 billion export estimate and the account of Saturday's strike all come from US Central Command, which is one party to the standoff.