Trump Announces US Navy Seized Blockade-Defying Iranian Cargo Vessel After ‘Blowing A Hole’ In Engine Room
Harold Hutchison
Media Reporter
April 19, 2026
President Donald Trump announced Sunday the U.S. Navy fired upon and seized an Iranian-flagged vessel trying to run the American blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump announced a naval blockade of the maritime chokepoint in an April 12 Truth Social post, saying ships that paid an Iranian toll in either Chinese yuan or cryptocurrency would be intercepted by the U.S. Navy. The Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Spruance (DDG-111) fired on the container ship Touska in the Gulf of Oman, “blowing a hole” in the vessel’s engine room, Trump said in a post on Truth Social. (RELATED: Trump Announces Naval Blockade To Counter Iran’s ‘WORLD EXTORTION,’ Warns They Risk Being ‘BLOWN TO HELL’)
“Today, an Iranian-flagged cargo ship named TOUSKA, nearly 900 feet long and weighing almost as much as an aircraft carrier, tried to get past our Naval Blockade, and it did not go well for them,” Trump announced. “The U.S. Navy Guided Missile Destroyer USS SPRUANCE intercepted the TOUSKA in the Gulf of Oman, and gave them fair warning to stop. The Iranian crew refused to listen, so our Navy ship stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engineroom [sic].”
https://dailycaller.com/2026/04/19/donald-trump-announces-united-states-navy-seized-iranian-tanker-touska-fleeing-strait-hormuz-blockade/
