US seizes Iran-linked cargo ship in Arabian Sea, could claim as 'spoils of war'

On Sunday, the United States Navy followed through on a warning it had issued weeks earlier: any ship attempting to run its blockade of Iranian ports would be stopped by force. The USS Spruance, a guided-missile destroyer, caught the M/V Touska steaming toward Bandar Abbas in the Arabian Sea and opened fire. Video released by the military shows the warship's 5-inch gun firing three rounds at the container ship after its crew was ordered to evacuate the engine room. The hits disabled the vessel. Within hours, Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit rappelled from helicopters onto the Touska's deck and took control of the ship, which remains in US custody.

The Touska is no stranger to sanctions. The vessel, owned by Tehran-based Mosakhar Darya Shipping Co., has been under US sanctions since 2018. Its owner company and all associated managers have been sanctioned since 2012. According to shipping data, the ship had been moving between the Chinese port of Zhuhai and various Iranian ports before its final journey. Its last documented stop was Port Klang, Malaysia, on April 12, just days before the Navy intercepted it in the Arabian Sea.

The USS Spruance itself is a formidable instrument of naval power. An Arleigh Burke-class destroyer commissioned in 2011, it displaces around 9,000 tons, stretches more than 500 feet in length, and carries a crew of 329. The ship's 5-inch Mark 45 gun, first deployed in 1971, can fire 16 to 20 rounds per minute and has an effective range of 15 miles with conventional ammunition. It is fully automatic and can be reloaded continuously from ammunition stored below deck. The Spruance also carries torpedoes, Tomahawk cruise missiles, Standard interceptors for ballistic missile defense, and Sea Sparrow missiles for close-range protection. The destroyer operates as part of the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group and is homeported in San Diego.

According to Carl Schuster, a former US Navy captain, it would have taken at least two direct hits to disable the Touska's diesel engine. All three rounds fired by the Spruance appear to have connected, meaning the ship will likely require towing to port. The vessel will be taken to an anchorage or port facility for inspection and cargo assessment. What happens next depends entirely on what the ship was carrying and who was aboard when it was seized.

Under the laws of naval warfare, the United States has the legal authority to seize a vessel that attempts to breach a blockade. If the cargo and circumstances warrant it, the Touska could become property of the US government as a "prize"—what military experts call "spoils of war." Jennifer Parker, a former Royal Australian Navy officer and nonresident fellow at the Lowy Institute, explained to CNN that such seizures require formal prize court proceedings to be established. The fate of the crew, however, depends on their nationalities and roles. Indian or Filipino sailors would likely be removed from the vessel and sent home. Iranian crew members could face detention. If any personnel aboard were members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, they could potentially be held as prisoners of war. The status of the cargo remains unknown, though if the ship was carrying weapons or military equipment bound for Iran, crew detention becomes more likely.

The seizure comes as the Trump administration has announced that peace talks with Iran are expected to resume this week in Islamabad, Pakistan. Iran has already vowed to retaliate for the boarding and seizure of the Touska, and it has not yet officially committed to participating in the negotiations. The incident marks an escalation in the blockade that has been in place, and it signals that the US Navy will enforce it with live fire if necessary. What remains to be seen is whether the capture of this single container ship will become a flashpoint that derails diplomatic efforts or whether both sides will find a way to move forward despite the rising tensions.