DUBAI — U.S. forces fired two Hellfire missiles at a Panama-flagged container ship in the Gulf of Oman on Tuesday, disabling its steering gear after Washington said the vessel was attempting to breach a naval blockade on Iranian ports.
U.S. Central Command said the M/V Vela Nova was sailing toward an Iranian port and had ignored repeated warnings to stop. The missiles disabled the vessel's steering system, according to the command. The incident occurred about 71 nautical miles (131 km) off Pakistan's coast, maritime security group Vanguard said.
The strike was the latest U.S. military action to enforce the blockade, which was initially announced in April and reimposed on July 14. Central Command said the Vela Nova was the 12th vessel targeted by U.S. forces since the blockade was first announced and the third since enforcement resumed last month.
The United States has said the blockade is intended to restrict maritime traffic to and from Iranian ports as Washington seeks to pressure Tehran. The latest incident adds to disruptions affecting commercial shipping across the region, particularly around the Strait of Hormuz, a major route for global oil and gas shipments.
The Vela Nova had recently called at Mumbai in India and Port Klang in Malaysia, where vessels linked to Iran have also been observed, according to Charlie Brown, a senior adviser at United Against Nuclear Iran, a group that monitors Iran-related maritime traffic. Brown said the incident reflected heightened scrutiny of shipping suspected of having links to Iran.
It was not immediately clear from publicly available information what cargo the Vela Nova was carrying or whether it had commercial ties to Iran. The U.S. military's account that the ship was violating the blockade was not independently established by Reuters.
The action came amid broader disruption to regional shipping. Reuters reported that only six ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, compared with a prewar daily average of roughly 130 to 140 vessels.
Central Command said the Vela Nova had been disabled after its crew failed to comply with repeated warnings. The latest confirmed information indicated that the vessel was no longer proceeding toward the Iranian coast.
