USS Spruance

USS Spruance (DDG-111) is an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer commissioned in 2011, assigned to the US Fifth Fleet and operating under CENTCOM in the Persian Gulf. On 19 April 2026 it intercepted the Iranian-flagged cargo ship Touska in the Gulf of Oman after a six-hour standoff, fired several Rounds from its 5-inch MK 45 naval gun into the engine room, put Marines aboard, and took the ship into US custody, the first kinetic seizure of an Iranian vessel since the 1988 Tanker War. CENTCOM simultaneously confirmed that 25 commercial vessels had been turned back since blockade day one, and Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters issued a written retaliation warning calling the seizure a 'ceasefire breach'.

The Spruance is named after Admiral Raymond Spruance, commander at the Battle of Midway. The DDG-111 hull is a Flight IIA Arleigh Burke variant, displacing approximately 9,200 tonnes, equipped with the Aegis combat system, 96 Mk 41 vertical launch cells, and standard Arleigh Burke armament including Tomahawk Cruise Missiles, SM-2 and SM-6 surface-to-air missiles, and ASROC anti-submarine rockets.

The Touska seizure marked a qualitative escalation in the blockade. Previous US enforcement had turned vessels back or issued warnings; kinetic boarding under fire was a different threshold. It directly triggered Brent Crude's 7% Monday rebound on 20 April and appears to have prompted Iran to tie Hormuz control to any Ceasefire extension.