The US Navy withdrew the ship from service on January 6, with six Yemeni nationals on board. The weapons were found by sailors from the coastal patrol ship USS Chinook, then captured with the help of the destroyers USS Monsoon and USS The Sullivans. Reuters.
The Navy Central Command confirmed the seizure of the weapons on his websiteAnd
A total of 2,116 AK-47s were found on the fishing boat.
The ship, which the navy intercepted, was following a route long used by local smugglers to deliver various illegal shipments to the Houthi leadership in Yemen. Not only is this activity illegal, but it also violates international law.
This shipment is part of the ongoing destabilizing activities coming out of Iran. These threats caught our attention. We continue to monitor any maritime activity that impedes freedom of navigation or threatens the security of the region
Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of the US Fifth Fleet and Combined Maritime Forces in the Gulf of Oman, said.
In the past two months, the flotilla has decommissioned two additional fishing vessels that were also transporting weapons from Iran to Yemen.
(Cover photo: Thousands of AK-47 assault rifles seized from fishing boat Jan. 7, 2023. Photo: Navcent Public Affairs/AFP)
