The ship, M/V Touska, connected to the sanctioned Iran Shipping Lines, was intercepted by US forces on April 19 near Iran’s Chabahar port in the Gulf of Oman. According to US Central Command, the flagged vessel ignored repeated warnings for nearly six hours before American forces boarded and took control, accusing it of violating a US-imposed naval blockade on Iranian ports.

US officials confirmed that 22 crew members have now been handed over to Pakistan for repatriation, while six others—identified by Iranian state media as family members, were quietly transferred to another country days earlier. The vessel itself is in the process of being returned to its original owners.