US Disables Cargo Ship Leaving Iran as UKMTO Reports Incident Off UAE's Khor Fakkan

Central Command said the ship's civilian crew "ignored repeated warnings" and tried to break the blockade several times. It said US forces told the crew to leave the parts of the ship that were about to be hit before the strike. Stars and Stripes identified the vessel as the M/V Huda. Central Command's statement gave no details on the crew's condition or the extent of the damage.

For Gulf trade the strike is more than a military footnote. It comes in the busiest week for attacks on merchant ships in the Gulf of Oman and Strait of Hormuz since the US-Israeli war with Iran began on February 28. Insurers, ship operators and energy buyers in the region are watching that corridor closely. The strait normally carries about a fifth of the world's oil consumption.

Central Command said 147 commercial vessels have changed course on its orders since blockade enforcement resumed in July. Five merchant ships that refused to comply have now been disabled. It estimates that the blockade has stopped Iran exporting more than $25 billion of crude oil. On the same day it set up Task Force Iron Gate, a Tampa-based unit that will target weapons, dual-use technology and sanctioned goods moving over Iran's land borders and across the Caspian Sea.

Hours later, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre (UKMTO) reported a separate incident about 18 nautical miles east of Khor Fakkan, on the UAE's east coast outside the Strait of Hormuz. In an advisory posted on X, the agency said a bulk carrier had been involved in an incident with military forces. It said the state of the crew, any damage and any environmental impact were not yet known, and that investigations were under way. UKMTO, which named military authorities as its source, did not identify the vessel or the forces involved. It also did not say whether the incident was linked to the US action against the Huda. It told ships in the area to follow the latest security information.

The incident was dated November 7 but reported on Sunday. According to Arab News's count, the bulk carrier is the sixth vessel caught up in reported attacks or security incidents in the Gulf of Oman and Hormuz corridor since November 1.

The others include a tanker hit by two unidentified projectiles in its engine room off Lima, Oman, on November 3, and a tanker struck about 50 nautical miles north of Madinat ash Shamal in Qatar on November 4. A seafarer was killed on Thursday aboard the Velos Sapphire, a Greek-owned, Marshall Islands-flagged tanker sailing empty to Bahrain. Its owner, Velos Tankers, said the ship was probably hit by an unidentified projectile that set it on fire. Iranian media reported on Thursday that five oil tankers and a tugboat had caught fire after hitting mines in the strait. On Friday, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said two more tankers were burning.

Tehran has tried to restrict traffic through Hormuz for most of the war, and it has threatened wide retaliation against Gulf infrastructure if President Donald Trump goes ahead with a new offensive. Qatar is mediating between the two sides. Its prime minister said on Saturday that the talks were continuing and that he was confident an agreement could be reached. The two sides remain divided over the blockade, sanctions and Iran's nuclear programme.

UKMTO said investigations into the Khor Fakkan incident were continuing. Ships in the area remain under its advisory to report suspicious activity and follow updated security guidance.