US forces disabled a Panama-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman in the early hours of Tuesday, firing two Hellfire missiles from a Navy MH-60 helicopter after the vessel ignored repeated warnings and continued towards an Iranian port in breach of the American naval blockade.
US Central Command said its forces disabled the steering gear of the M/V Vela Nova before the helicopter put two missiles into the ship's engine room. The strike started a fire aboard the vessel, according to accounts carried by ABC News and the BBC, and there were no immediate reports of casualties. CENTCOM said the ship "is no longer transiting to Iran in violation of the US blockade, which remains in full effect".
Accounts of the vessel's position vary. CENTCOM placed the incident in the Gulf of Oman, while the maritime security firm Vanguard said the ship was roughly 70 nautical miles off the coast of Pakistan. Al Jazeera's live blog, which first carried the story, described the missiles as having struck the steering gear — a sequence that differs from the CENTCOM statement quoted elsewhere.
The Vela Nova is the third ship to be disabled since Washington reimposed the blockade in late July, following the collapse of a 60-day arrangement signed by President Donald Trump and President Masoud Pezeshkian in June. CENTCOM says it has redirected 55 commercial vessels, disabled three and boarded two in the current phase of enforcement.
The strike lands in a shipping environment already close to paralysis. Only six vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, against a 10-day average of about 11 and pre-war levels of roughly 130 to 140 a day. The strait normally carries about a fifth of global oil supply. Hours before the Vela Nova was hit, Houthi forces attacked the Tanzania-flagged Tihamah in the Bab el-Mandeb. Reuters, citing Yemeni coast guard and military sources, reported three crew killed; Yemen's coastguard said six died in total, including two personnel sent on a rescue mission.
Tehran has shown no sign of movement. Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, wrote on X that the strait "will not be reopened until the United States ends the war and blockade, releases Iran's frozen assets, and the war throughout the region, including in Lebanon and Gaza, ends". Asked by ABC News what he would do next after rejecting those demands, Mr Trump said only: "You'll find out."
For the four-week-old government of Prime Minister Andy Burnham, the strike sharpens an awkward position. Britain has never endorsed the blockade. Sir Keir Starmer refused to back it when it was first imposed in April, calling instead for unfettered access to the strait, and the UK's published legal position covers defensive action in the collective self-defence of regional allies, not the enforcement of a blockade against third-flag merchant shipping.
Britain and France have pursued a separate track, convening 51 countries and calling for "the unconditional, unrestricted and immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz". No US representative was invited. Defence Secretary John Healey has committed drones, fighter jets and naval assets to a proposed escort mission to be led with France and Oman, with more than 100 tankers understood to be awaiting passage.
"We are at war. The difference is, we're not joining the war. We're in the war."
Sir Keir's formulation at the despatch box in July still frames the dilemma inherited by Mr Burnham and his Foreign Secretary, Ed Miliband. Brent crude is back near $100 a barrel, diesel has risen almost 8p in a fortnight to 172.14p, and Cornwall Insight warns the government's 5% VAT cut on electricity bills will be wiped out by rising wholesale costs from October.
No response to the Vela Nova strike had been issued by Downing Street, the Foreign Office or the Ministry of Defence at the time of publication. The Commons remains in summer recess, and only the government can request a recall.
Join the Discussion
Have something to say? Join the conversation!
Sign in to share your thoughts and engage with other readers.
Sign In Create AccountNo comments yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this article!