WASHINGTON (AP) —The crews of all three merchant vessels seized by the U.S. military over the past week are still in U.S. custody, Gen. Dan Caine said at a briefing Friday.
“We will continue to conduct similar maritime interdiction actions and activities in the Pacific and Indian Oceans against Iranian ships and vessels of the Dark Fleet,” Caine said.
Caine also said the crew of the Tousca, the first merchant ship seized by U.S. forces Sunday, “repeatedly ignored U.S. warnings” over a six-hour period. Caine said this behavior prompted the crew of the Navy destroyer following the ship to fire five warning shots.
“The vessel and her crew continued to ignore warnings and, after exhausting all other measures, CENTCOM authorized disabling fire against the Tousca,” Caine said. Then, according to Caine, the destroyer disabled the ship’s engine by firing nine inert rounds from the destroyer’s 5-inch guns “precisely into the engine room and engine space on board the Tousca.”
“Not surprisingly, the vessel then reported issues with their engine, went dead in the water and began to comply with U.S. directions,” Caine added.