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The U.S. military disabled a Panama-flagged cargo tanker on Tuesday attempting to transit the Gulf of Oman in violation of the U.S. naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. Central Command (Centcom), which oversees the action of U.S. forces in the Middle East, announced.
The U.S. Navy MH-60 helicopter fired two Hellfire missiles into the steering area of the M/V Vela Nova after the vessel’s civilian crew ignored repeated warnings from U.S. forces, Centcom said in a statement.
Vela Nova, a container ship, is about 475 feet long and 75 feet wide, according to Marinetraffic.com.
The firing in the strait, through which during peacetime around 20 percent of the world’s oil and gas flows, comes as Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi claimed earlier today the waterway will not be reopened until the U.S. meets its conditions, which included the removal of U.S. forces in the vicinity of Iran and paying Tehran reparations for the conflict.
President Trump said on Monday that he wants compensation from Iran “for all of the people that they have killed” in the past five decades.
Shipping in the Strait of Hormuz has fallen to just six vessels as of Monday, according to maritime tracking firms, as prospects of a peace deal to end the war between Washington and Tehran and to reopen the waterway waver.
Since resuming the blockade in the strait, U.S. forces have redirected 55 commercial ships attempting to run the blockade, disabled three and boarded another two vessels, according to Centcom.
“U.S. forces operating in the Middle East are highly vigilant, lethal, and ready,” Centcom said.
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