U.S. forces on Sunday fired on and captured the Iranian-flagged cargo ship M/V Touska, which the U.S. was attempting to blockade at an Iranian port, according to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM).
What is the status of the ship now?
Naval experts said the Towska would be taken to a berth or port for inspection.
Once that is done and the cargo is identified, it could end up in the possession of the U.S. government as a “prize,” they said.
“Under the laws of naval warfare, it is possible to seize a vessel that attempts to blockade in a situation like this,” Jennifer Parker, a non-resident researcher at the Lowy Institute and a former Australian naval officer, told CNN.
The Towska has been shuttling between the Chinese city of Zhuhai and various ports in Iran in recent years and has been under sanctions since 2018, according to MarineTraffic data.
Marine Traffic said the Towska was “loaded with cargo” but did not specify exactly what the cargo was.
If Washington “elects to hold it long-term, it will have to go through a bounty court and that will need to be set up,” Parker said.
Carl Schuster, a former U.S. Navy captain and Hawaii-based analyst, said the items could be treated as “spoils of war,” similar to items seized from enemy combatants or enemies during the course of an armed conflict.
As for the fate of Towska’s crew, Parker said their nationality will determine their fate.
“If it was an Indian or Filipino crew member, I think the crew would be taken off the ship and repatriated.”
Parker said the crew could be detained if they were Iranian, and if there were members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on board, they could be held as prisoners of war.
If the Towska was carrying any arms or weapons for Iran, the crew would likely be detained, she said.
CNN has asked CENTCOM for comment on the nationality of the crew and the condition of the ship.
CNN’s Teele Rebane contributed reporting.
