US says helicopter disabled ship at Iran blockade

The US military said Tuesday that a US Navy MH-60 helicopter fired missiles into the engine room of a Panama-flagged cargo ship after it said the vessel tried to break the American blockade of Iran's ports.

US Central Command said on X that the helicopter disabled the M/V Vela Nova after the ship's civilian crew ignored repeated warnings from American forces. It said the vessel was no longer heading to Iran in violation of the US blockade.

CENTCOM said it was the third time the United States had forcibly halted a vessel since reinstating the ports blockade on July 14. It said US forces had redirected 55 ships that tried to run the blockade and boarded two others as of Tuesday.

CENTCOM said US forces previously blockaded Iranian ports from April 13 to June 18, disabling nine ships and redirecting more than 140 during that period.

Iran has demanded that the United States end the ports blockade as part of its conditions to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for oil and gas shipments before the war.