US Navy Seizes Iranian Ship Touska: USS Spruance Fires on Cargo Vessel Defying Hormuz Blockade

# US Navy Seizes Iranian Ship Touska: USS Spruance Fires on Cargo Vessel Defying Hormuz Blockade

> **Quick answer:** On April 19, 2026, the US Navy destroyer USS Spruance disabled and seized the Iranian-flagged cargo ship Touska in the Gulf of Oman after a six-hour standoff. The Touska had attempted to breach the US naval blockade of Iranian ports. Marines took custody of the vessel. Iran called it "armed piracy" and a ceasefire violation. The incident happened 48 hours before the fragile 10-day ceasefire expires on April 21 — and just as a second round of nuclear talks in Islamabad fell apart.

The United States Navy has fired on and seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship for the first time since imposing a naval blockade on Iranian ports one week ago. The ship, the Touska, was disabled in the Gulf of Oman on April 19 by the USS Spruance after its crew refused US warnings for six straight hours — a dramatic escalation that is now threatening to derail ceasefire negotiations and rattle global energy markets.

## What Happened: The Touska Seizure

The Touska is a massive vessel — nearly 900 feet long, roughly the displacement weight of an aircraft carrier — and was already listed under US Treasury sanctions for prior illegal activity before it attempted to breach the American naval blockade.

According to US Central Command (CENTCOM), the USS Spruance, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer based in San Diego, intercepted the Touska in the Gulf of Oman and issued repeated warnings over a six-hour period, ordering the vessel to stop and comply with blockade orders. The Touska's crew refused every warning.