US forces have disabled a Panama-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman after it attempted to sail towards an Iranian port in violation of the US blockade, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said.
Centcom said the steering gear of the M/V Vela Nova was disabled after its civilian crew ignored repeated warnings from US forces. A US Navy MH-60 helicopter then fired two Hellfire missiles into the vessel’s engine room, stopping it from continuing towards Iran.
The military said the US blockade of Iran remains in full effect. As of August 11, Centcom said it had redirected 55 commercial vessels attempting to evade the blockade, disabled three non-compliant vessels and boarded two others.
The incident marks another escalation in US efforts to enforce the maritime blockade, amid continuing disruption to commercial shipping in the Gulf of Oman and around the Strait of Hormuz. –Agencies
