US forces redirect 55 vessels and board two in Iran naval blockade, CENTCOM says

The US military’s naval blockade of Iran is operating at a pace that would make any maritime insurance underwriter very uncomfortable. As of August 9, 2026, US Central Command reported that American forces had redirected 55 commercial vessels, disabled two, and conducted boardings of two others, all as part of an ongoing effort to choke off maritime traffic to and from Iranian ports. More than 20 US warships, including the USS Ross, are currently deployed to the region to enforce the operation across the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. How we got here The current enforcement phase is actually the second act of a longer campaign. A prior blockade ran from April 13 to June 18, 2026, during which US forces redirected more than 140 vessels and disabled nine. After a pause, operations resumed on July 14. The tempo since resumption has climbed sharply. On July 25, CENTCOM reported 12 vessels redirected. By August 9, that number had more than quadrupled to 55. Specific vessels have already felt the consequences of non-compliance. On July 15, US forces disabled the Curaçao-flagged tanker Belma. Nine days later, the Mozambique-flagged Lavine was similarly disabled. On July 25, American perso...