The guided-missile destroyer USS Paul Hamilton recently intercepted a fishing boat in the Gulf of Oman carrying 802 kilograms of methamphetamines and 1,000 kilograms of hashish. Before being boarded, the five crewmembers on the fishing vessel – who identified themselves as Iranian nationals – attempted to throw at least 50 35-pound bags of amphetamines overboard, some of which were ultimately recovered by the Navy. The cargo was valued at $42 million dollars.

“This was outstanding work by the entire Paul Hamilton team,” Capt. Anthony Webber, commander of Task Force 55, responsible for overseeing U.S. maritime surface operations in the Middle East, said in a Navy release. “These interdictions remove illicit narcotics from the high seas and help deter destabilizing activity in regional waters.”

Task & Purpose reports that since the beginning of 2023, ships operating with Combined Task Force 150, which patrols the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the Indian Ocean, and the Gulf of Oman and is comprised of personnel from 38 nations, have seized approximately $150 million worth of illegal narcotics.

The ship is an Arleigh Burke Class guided-missile destroyer named after Paul Hamilton who was the nation’s third Secretary of the Navy, serving under President James Madison from 1809 to 1813.