--- title: "This is what we know about the Maritime Raid Force used to seize Iranian vessel" description: "Marines from a specialized Maritime Raid Force seized an Iranian cargo ship on April 19. The teams train for months for the missions." date: "2026-04-20" modified: "2026-04-20" authors: - name: "Jeff Schogol" job_title: "Senior Pentagon Reporter" link: "https://taskandpurpose.com/authors/jeff-schogol.md" url: "https://taskandpurpose.com/news/marines-sea-raids/" categories: - "Around the World" - "Iran" - "News" tags: - "Modern Day Marine 2026" --- # This is what we know about the Maritime Raid Force used to seize Iranian vessel ![U.S. Marines with Force Reconnaissance Platoon, Maritime Raid Force, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, fast rope out of a U.S. Navy MH-60S Seahawk assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat (HSC) Squadron 25, during a fast rope exercise in the Philippine Sea, Feb. 12, 2026. Marines and Sailors conducted fast-rope training to enhance air-to-ground insertion capabilities for operations in support of the 31st MEU. The 31st MEU is a persistent, combat credible force operating aboard the ships of the Tripoli Amphibious Ready Group in the U.S. 7th fleet area of operations, routinely interacting and operating with our allies and partners to contribute to deterrence, security, crisis response, and combat operations in the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Victor Gurrola)]() *U.S. Marines with Force Reconnaissance Platoon, Maritime Raid Force, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, fast rope out of a U.S. Navy MH-60S Seahawk on Feb. 12, 2026. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Victor Gurrola.* On Sunday, Marines from the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli fast-roped from helicopters onto the deck of the Iranian cargo ship M/V Touska to [take custody of the vessel,]() the first seizure of the [week-long U.S. military blockade of Iranian ports](). The Touska was first disabled by sailors on the Navy destroyer USS Spruance, who fired several shots from its 5-inch MK 45 gun at the vessel’s engine room**.** Carried out under the cover of darkness, the operation highlighted the capabilities of a small, highly trained group of Marines known as a Maritime Raid Force, or MRF, that specializes in boarding and seizing vessels at sea. Currently, the 2,200-strong 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit embarked on the Tripoli Amphibious Ready Group is deployed to the Middle East. A U.S. official confirmed to Task & Purpose that the Marines who boarded the M/V Touska were with the unit’s MRF. A retired Marine special operations officer told Task & Purpose that embarked MRFs train for [Visit, Board, Search and Seizure](), or VBSS, missions, like the operation to take control of the Iranian cargo vessel. In another VBSS operation, a Maritime Raid Force successfully [retook the container M/V Magellan Star]() in September 2010, capturing nine Somali pirates and freeing the ship's crew, all without firing a shot. These missions are so complex and dangerous that preparing for them requires a unit to put in between six months and a year of specialized training, said the retired Marine, who spent a total of more than 20 years’ operational experience in both U.S. Marine Forces Special Operations Command and force reconnaissance units. “You need people who can do it,” the retired Marine said. “They've got the mental prowess to kind of overcome that fear and execute it. Then, if they got into any kind of shooting onboard that ship, they have to have people who are very capable with what's called close-quarter battle marksmanship. They have to be able to make split-second decisions and move very quickly inside of confined spaces, where you need people who have been well rehearsed in doing that. You have to have very specific people who are trained to do that.” ![U.S. Marines with the Maritime Raid Force, 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, operate a rigid-hulled inflatable boat in the Pacific Ocean, April 2, 2026. The 11th MEU is currently underway aboard the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group in the U.S. 3rd Fleet area of operations demonstrating the United States’ long-term commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Avery Wayland)]() *Marines with the Maritime Raid Force, 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, operate a rigid-hulled inflatable boat in the Pacific Ocean, April 2, 2026. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Avery Wayland.* When embarked with an MEU, he said, the team works directly for the commander of a [Marine Expeditionary Unit](), he said. MRFs pull members from reconnaissance and infantry Marines and set up their own communications and dedicated air support, said the retired officer. The danger involved with VBSS missions was painfully illustrated in January 2024, when a Navy SEAL fell overboard while trying to climb onto a ship off Somalia. Another SEAL jumped in after him. [Both drowned.]() ## Deliberate search after a helicopter raid The Marines who seized the vessel used the “top-down” approach by lowering themselves onto the vessel’s deck from helicopters, said [Jonathan Schroden](), an expert on Marine Corps force design with CNA, a Washington, D.C.-based not-for-profit research and analysis organization. “There's not a lot of other Marines outside of the \[U.S. Marine Forces Special Operations Command\] environment who are trained to rappel from helicopters like that,” Schroden told Task & Purpose. “So, that particular mode of insertion is something that the \[Maritime Raid Force\] is specifically trained to do.” Members of a Maritime Raid Force also practice the “bottom-up” approach to boarding missions, in which they approach a ship in rigid hull inflatable boats and then use ladders to climb up the vessel’s side, Schroden said. “A lot of people think that only the Navy SEALs have the ability to board and potentially seize ships, but this is a mission that the Marine Corps does and has trained to for decades, and is something that every Marine Expeditionary Unit that deploys has within its capability set the ability to do,” Schroden said. ## Author Jeff Schogol is the former senior Pentagon reporter for Task & Purpose. He reported on both the Department of Defense as a whole and individual services, covering a variety of topics that include personnel, policy, military justice, deployments, and technology. ### Author social links [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]() [Twitter]()