U.S. Navy Fires Hellfire Missiles at Panama-Flagged M/V Vela Nova in Gulf of Oman

The U.S. Navy MH-60 helicopter fired two Hellfire missiles into the engine room of the Panama-flagged M/V Vela Nova in the Gulf of Oman after CENTCOM said the ship’s civilian crew ignored repeated warnings from American forces.

“fired missiles into the engine room of the Panama-flagged cargo ship”

The Straits Times

CENTCOM said the vessel “is no longer transiting to Iran in violation of the US blockade,” and said it had disabled the steering gear before the helicopter strike.

BBC

As of Tuesday, CENTCOM said it has redirected 55 ships that tried to run the blockade and boarded two others, while U.S. forces previously blockaded Iranian ports from April 13 to June 18, disabling nine ships and redirecting more than 140.

A U.S. official told The Washington Post that the crew appeared to be attempting to transfer to another civilian vessel after the attack, and Vanguard said the missile strike caused a fire aboard the Vela Nova that was later extinguished.

Vanguard reported that all 17 crew members were accounted for after the incident, which happened Tuesday as the ship was sailing toward an Iranian port in violation of the U.S. blockade.

BBC said CENTCOM acted after “the ship's civilian crew ignored repeated warnings from American forces,” and added that the vessel “is no longer transiting to Iran.”

The Wall Street Journal reported hours earlier that a U.S. official claimed the helicopter fired at the rudder of the container ship, while Vanguard said the missile struck the vessel, causing a fire that was subsequently extinguished.

BNO News

BNO News said there were no immediate reports of casualties, and Vanguard said the missile strike fire was later extinguished.

In a separate development, BBC reported that Yemen's internationally recognised government said six people were killed and 10 injured in strikes by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis on a cargo ship in the Red Sea.

CENTCOM said the blockade remains in full effect, and as of 11 August it had redirected 55 commercial vessels attempting to run the blockade, disabled 3 non-compliant vessels, and boarded 2.

CENTCOM said the strike was the third time the United States has forcibly halted a vessel since reinstating the ports blockade on July 14, after it had blockaded Iranian ports from April 13 to June 18.

“reinstating the ports blockade on July 14.”

Free Malaysia Today

Free passage through the Strait of Hormuz has remained interrupted since mid-July, and Iran has demanded that the United States end the ports blockade as part of its conditions to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key conduit for oil and gas shipments.

The Free Malaysia Today report said the incident came as the U.S. continued a months-long war against Iran, and it said Tehran’s attacks on ships in the area have seen traffic plummet.

In the same reporting, Centcom said it has redirected 55 ships that tried to run the blockade and boarded two others as of Tuesday, while it said it disabled nine ships and redirected more than 140 during the earlier blockade period.

RTE.ie quoted CENTCOM saying the vessel “is no longer transiting to Iran in violation of the US blockade,” and said the U.S. blockade remains in full effect as enforcement continues.