US Navy Seizes Over 170 Tons of Hazardous Materials Smuggled to Yemen

Guided-missile destroyer USS The Sullivans and patrol coastal ship USS Hurricane sail in the background as U.S. Sailors inventory a large quantity of urea fertilizer and ammonium perchlorate discovered on board a fishing vessel intercepted by naval forces while transiting international waters in the Gulf of Oman on Nov. 9, 2022. Courtesy of U.S. Navy by Sonar Technician "Surface" 1st Class Kevin Frus

The U.S. Navy found a massive volume of missile fuel and type of explosive material often used in terrorism aboard a vessel bound for Yemen from Iran, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced on Tuesday.

CENTCOM said in a statement that its forces had interdicted a stateless sailing dhow on Nov. 8 that appeared to be smuggling illicit weapons and drugs. The dhow originated from Iran and was sailing on a well-worn maritime arms smuggling route to war-ravaged Yemen.