The massive amount of explosive material was seized by the US Navy’s 5th Fleet on November 8 while the ship was traveling along a route used to ship weapons to Iran-backed Houthi rebels in the war-torn country.
“Iran’s illicit transfer of lethal aid does not go unnoticed,” Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of US Naval Forces Central Command, 5th Fleet and US Combined Forces, said in a statement. “It is irresponsible, dangerous and leading to violence and instability throughout the Middle East.”
The 5th Fleet said the vessel was intercepted by the US Coast Guard ship USCGC John Scheuerman and the guided-missile destroyer USS The Sullivans.
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The US 5th Fleet removes explosive material found on a ship traveling from Iran to Yemen. (US 5th Fleet)
“The littoral combat ship USS Hurricane (PC 3) and Navy explosive ordnance disposal technicians from the US 5th Fleet’s Task Force 56 also assisted during a week-long effort to fully search the vessel and verify the type of material that found,” she said in a statement.
While on board, “forces discovered more than 70 tons of ammonium perchlorate, a strong oxidizer commonly used to make rocket and missile fuels as well as explosives,” according to the US 5th Fleet, which added that it was the first time which intercepted the material.
The US 5th Fleet says it found “more than 70 tons of ammonium perchlorate, a strong oxidizer commonly used to make rocket and missile fuels as well as explosives,” on the fishing vessel. (US 5th Fleet)
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The raid also found more than 100 tons of urea fertilizer, a chemical compound that can be used to make explosives.
The US 5th Fleet says the ship was traveling along a route historically used to send deadly aid to Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. (US 5th Fleet)
US forces sank the vessel on November 13, deeming it a danger to commercial shipping. The four crew members operating it were returned to Yemen two days later during an exchange at sea in the Gulf of Aden with the Yemeni Coast Guard.
Liz Friden is a Pentagon producer based in Washington, DC
