US says helicopter fired missiles to disable ship breaking Iran blockade
US Central Command says its helicopter hit the engine room of a Panama-flagged cargo vessel in the Gulf of Oman.
An American military helicopter reportedly launched missiles to incapacitate a cargo ship that was attempting to breach the US blockade of Iranian ports, according to US authorities.
US Central Command (Centcom) issued a statement detailing that its MH-60 aircraft discharged two Hellfire missiles into the engine room of the Panama-flagged vessel, M/V Vela Nova, on Tuesday. The incident occurred as the ship was trying to navigate through the Gulf of Oman. The missiles were aimed at disabling the ship's "steering gear."
Centcom stated that this action was taken after "the ship's civilian crew ignored repeated warnings from American forces." The command also confirmed that the vessel "is no longer transiting to Iran."
As of now, Iran has not issued any statement regarding the incident. The US initiated its blockade of Iranian ports in April, following unsuccessful efforts to conclude the US-Iran conflict.
In a statement posted on X, Centcom indicated that the M/V Vela Nova was attempting to sail to an unnamed Iranian port.
Centcom reiterated that the US blockade "remains in full effect." The statement further noted that as of August 11, Centcom has rerouted 55 commercial vessels that attempted to circumvent the blockade, disabled 3 non-compliant vessels, and boarded 2.