WSJ: Iranian ship seized by US sparks scrutiny over China associations

A cargo ship under the Iranian flag, seized by US forces, was part of a fleet connected to a sanctioned Iranian state shipping company and had recently travelled through China.

The vessel MV Touska is controlled by a subsidiary of the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines, which has been accused of transporting cargo with potential military applications, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reports, citing sources.

The ship was en route back to Iran after a visit to China late last month. The Touska was sailing to the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas when it was warned repeatedly over a six-hour period by the USS Spruance, a guided-missile destroyer, that it was violating the blockade, U.S. Central Command said.

According to Central Command, the destroyer warned the crew to evacuate the ship’s engine room and then fired several rounds into that area, disabling its propulsion. 

Marines from the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli then boarded the Touska by helicopter.

The US hasn’t revealed if American forces found anything of interest on board, and it isn’t clear why the 965-foot ship tried to slip through the blockade or what it was carrying.

By Jeyhun Aghazada