Missile event in Oman on Sun 19th April 2026

On 19 April 2026, around 4:30pm Muscat time, US guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance (DDG 111) fired several rounds using a 12.7mm MK 45 Gun at the Touska container ship (IMO: 9328900) in the Gulf of Oman, around 27 nm south of the Iranian coast, as it was attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz to call at Bandar Abbas in Iran. The attack targeted the engine room, after the ship's crew were directed to evacuate it, 'blowing a hole' in it and disabling the ship's propulsion. US Marines from the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli (LHA 7) later boarded the vessel, taking custody of it. There were no casualties. US forces claimed that the use of force was due to the crew's failure to comply with multiple warnings over a 6-hour period that they were in violation of the US blockade.