US says helicopter fired missiles to disable ship breaking Iran blockade

The US military, through US Central Command (Centcom), stated that one of its helicopters fired missiles to disable a cargo vessel in the Gulf of Oman. An MH-60 aircraft reportedly launched two Hellfire missiles into the engine room of the Panama-flagged M/V Vela Nova on Tuesday. Centcom claims this action was taken after the ship's civilian crew ignored repeated warnings as the vessel attempted to violate the US blockade of Iranian ports and transit to Iran. The US has been enforcing this blockade following failed attempts to end the war it and Israel started on February 28th. The article does not specify if there were any casualties or injuries.

On Tuesday, a U.S. Navy MH-60 helicopter fired missiles into the engine room of the Panama-flagged cargo ship M/V Vela Nova in the Gulf of Oman. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) stated the action was taken after the ship's civilian crew ignored repeated warnings from American forces. The U.S. military said the vessel was disabled and is no longer attempting to transit to Iran, which would violate the American blockade of Iranian ports. The incident aimed to enforce this blockade. It remains unclear if there were any casualties.

The US military, through US Central Command (CENTCOM), fired on the Panama-flagged cargo vessel Vela Nova in the Gulf of Oman. CENTCOM stated that a Navy helicopter fired Hellfire missiles at the ship's engine room after it allegedly attempted to violate a US blockade against Iran by sailing toward an Iranian port and ignoring repeated warnings. This incident occurred amid stalled US-Iran diplomacy and a period of relative calm following a recent escalation in fighting. The US reimposed its naval blockade on Iranian ports after a previous ceasefire and memorandum of understanding appeared to collapse. CENTCOM reported disabling 55 commercial vessels and boarding two as part of its blockade efforts.