Overview
- On Monday U.S. Central Command said an F/A-18 from the carrier USS Abraham Lincoln fired a precision munition into the Palau-flagged MT Marivex, disabling its engineering and steering compartments to stop it from sailing to an Iranian port.
- Omani search-and-rescue helicopters, coordinated with MRCC Mumbai and the Indian embassy in Muscat, airlifted all 24 Indian seafarers to Masirah Island and India thanked Oman for the swift rescue.
- U.S. and Indian officials said the tanker was unladen when struck and has been blacklisted by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control after prior links to sanctions-evasion networks, and crew and tracking records show attempts to evade naval warnings.
- A separate attack on another commercial vessel off Oman on Wednesday left 21 Indians rescued and three reported missing as search-and-rescue and diplomatic coordination continue.
- The incident highlights how stepped-up U.S. blockade enforcement, the use of flags of convenience and a so-called shadow fleet make it harder to enforce sanctions and raise humanitarian and security risks for commercial mariners transiting the Strait of Hormuz region.