Iranian ship, crew seized by US transferred to Pakistan for repatriation

ISLAMABAD: An Iranian vessel seized by the United States after what American officials described as non-compliance with a US naval blockade has been transferred to Pakistan along with its crew for repatriation to Iran, according to statements cited in an American media report.

US Central Command spokesperson Captain Tim Hawkins said, US forces completed the transfer of 22 crew members of M/V Touska to Pakistan for repatriation. He added that six other passengers had already been moved to a regional country for repatriation last week. Iranian state media identified those six people as family members of some of the crew.

Hawkins also said custody of the vessel was being returned to its original owner after the ship was intercepted and seized while allegedly attempting to breach the US naval blockade against Iran last month.

The M/V Touska was boarded and seized by US forces on April 19. The small container ship, part of the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines group, was intercepted off Iran’s Chabahar port in the Gulf of Oman. The shipping group has been targeted by US sanctions.

At the time of the seizure, US Central Command said the crew had failed to comply with repeated warnings over a six-hour period. American forces had issued multiple warnings and informed the Iranian-flagged ship that it was violating the US blockade.

Iran, however, strongly objected to the action. Iran’s foreign ministry had described the incident as unlawful and a violation of international law, and called for the immediate release of the vessel, its sailors and their families. Iran’s military said the ship had been travelling from China and accused the United States of armed piracy.

Shipping tensions in Hormuz

The development comes amid continued strain in and around the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global shipping route off Iran’s coast. Tehran has virtually blocked the waterway since the United States and Israel began bombing Iran on February 28. Some vessels trying to pass through the strait have reported coming under fire, and Iran has also seized several other ships.

Last month, the United States imposed its own blockade on ships departing Iranian ports. On Sunday, US President Donald Trump said Washington would begin assisting ships stranded in the Gulf. He said the initiative, called Operation Freedom, would start on Monday and help vessels and crews that had been locked up in the strategic waterway and were running short of food and other supplies.

"We have told these Countries that we will guide their Ships safely out of these restricted Waterways, so that they can freely and ably get on with their business," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

According to the International Maritime Organisation, hundreds of ships and as many as 20,000 seafarers have been unable to pass through the strait during the conflict. US Central Command said it would back the effort with 15,000 military personnel, more than 100 land- and sea-based aircraft, as well as warships and drones. The operation was intended to restore freedom of navigation for commercial shipping through the strait.

Iran reacted sharply to Trump’s announcement. Ebrahim Azizi, who heads the national security commission in Iran’s parliament, said on X that any US move to intervene in the Strait of Hormuz would be treated as a breach of the ongoing ceasefire.

"Any American interference in the new maritime regime of the Strait of Hormuz will be considered a violation of the ceasefire," he said.