US Central Command on Tuesday announced that a US military helicopter bombed a civilian cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman that it accused of attempting to break the US blockade of Iranian ports.
CENTCOM said a US Navy MH-60 helicopter fired two Hellfire missiles into the engine room of the Panama-flagged Vela Nova after “the ship’s civilian crew ignored repeated warnings from American forces.”
“The ship is no longer transiting to Iran in violation of the U.S. blockade, which remains in full effect,” CENTCOM wrote on X, adding that since it re-imposed the blockade last month, it has “redirected 55 commercial vessels attempting to run the blockade, disabled 3 non-compliant vessels, and boarded 2.”
According to The Wall Street Journal, the maritime security firm Vanguard reported that the Vela Nova was struck while transiting westbound through the Gulf of Oman about 71 nautical miles from the coast of Pakistan. Vanguard said a fire caused by the strike was extinguished and that all 17 crew members were accounted for.
The US also bombed several civilian ships while it was enforcing the blockade earlier in the war, and one strike on a vessel in early June killed three Indian mariners.
Tuesday’s incident highlights the fact that the US is still very much at war with Iran as it continues enforcing a blockade on the country, a blockade that Iranian officials maintain must be lifted in order for the Strait of Hormuz to be opened.
