MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

US disables a Panama-flagged container ship off the coast of Pakistan

A Navy MH-60 helicopter fired two Hellfire missiles into the vessel's engine room after its civilian crew ignored repeated warnings

US forces struck the Panama-flagged container ship Vela Nova in the Gulf of Oman on Tuesday, leaving it unable to steer, after it attempted to head for an Iranian port in violation of the naval blockade imposed by Washington, US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed.

A Navy MH-60 helicopter fired two Hellfire missiles into the vessel's engine room after its civilian crew ignored repeated warnings, the command said in a statement. The strike disabled the ship's steering gear. A senior US official quoted earlier by The Wall Street Journal had said the shot was aimed at the rudder, and that the crew was subsequently transferred to another vessel.

The incident took place some 71 nautical miles — around 131 kilometers — off the coast of Pakistan, while the ship was sailing westbound. Maritime security firm Vanguard reported that the impact started a fire, later extinguished, and that all 17 crew members are safe. The British organization UKMTO had initially reported an incident involving a tanker.

The Panamanian flag corresponds to an open registry and does not imply any link to the Panamanian state or Panamanian ownership. Shipping records list Golden Valley Marine INV as registered owner and commercial manager, with Sino Hellenic Ships Management as technical manager and classification by the Korean Register.

It is the third vessel disabled since the United States reimposed the blockade on July 14. As of Tuesday, CENTCOM has redirected 55 commercial vessels attempting to cross the line, disabled three and boarded two, according to its own figures. The previous cases were the Curaçao-flagged Belma and the Mozambique-flagged Lavine, on July 24. In June, three Indian sailors died during a blockade enforcement operation, according to an Indian official at the time.

Charlie Brown, an adviser to the US organization United Against Nuclear Iran, told Reuters that the Vela Nova recently called at Mumbai and Port Klang, ports also used by vessels linked to Iran, and that the episode underscores the heightened scrutiny now being applied to Iran-related shipping.

The strike comes during a period of relative calm following the apparent collapse of the memorandum of understanding signed by the two countries in June and a thirteen-day escalation in July. Tehran and Washington exchanged mutual demands for compensation over war damage on Monday. In July, the Houthis declared a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia and struck two Saudi tankers in the Red Sea.