By KONSTANTIN TOROPIN<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 The U.S. military has boarded another commercial vessel during blockade of Iran\u2019s ports<\/a>, but unlike in previous cases, the ship was ultimately allowed to carry on its way.<\/p>\n U.S. Central Command said on social media that Marines boarded the Blue Star III on Tuesday but \u201creleased the vessel after conducting a search and confirming its voyage would not include an Iranian port call.\u201d An accompanying video showed American forces fast-roping from a helicopter onto the vessel.<\/p>\n The Blue Star is at least the fourth merchant ship to be boarded since the Trump administration began the blockade of Iranian shipping<\/a> more than two weeks ago, but it is the first to not be taken into U.S. custody<\/a>. The U.S. blockade aims to squeeze Iran<\/a> amid a ceasefire in the war as Tehran\u2019s cutoff of the Strait of Hormuz<\/a>, a crucial waterway for energy shipments, ripples across the global economy<\/a>.<\/p>\n Data from ship tracking websites shows that the Blue Star departed the Pakistani port of Qasim and was en route to the port of Sohar, Oman.<\/p>\n The military offered no information about what prompted it to suspect the ship. U.S. Central Command has become more aggressive in making the case that the blockade works amid skepticism from outside experts.<\/p>\n The military command that oversees the Middle East has not only provided regular updates on the number of merchant ships it says the blockade has turned around but also claimed Tuesday that \u201cU.S. forces cut off economic trade going into and coming out of Iran.\u201d<\/p>\n Shortly after the blockade began, Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the enforcement actions would extend beyond Iranian waters<\/a> and the area under control of U.S. Central Command.<\/p>\n The military also detailed an expansive list of goods that it considers contraband, declaring that it will board, search and seize them from merchant vessels \u201cregardless of location.\u201d<\/p>\n