US forces disabled an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday after the vessel allegedly violated an ongoing blockade against Iran by " attempting to transport Iranian oil," the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said.
The incident marked the third commercial ship disabled by US forces this week, CENTCOM said on US social media platform X.
US forces “acted against Guinea-Bissau flagged M/T Jalveer as it attempted to transport oil from Iran through the Gulf of Oman. A US aircraft fired two Hellfire missiles into the ship’s engine room after the crew repeatedly failed to comply with directions from US forces,” CENTCOM said.
Earlier this week, US aircraft disabled the Palau-flagged tankers M/T Marivex and M/T Settebello on Monday and Tuesday, respectively, CENTCOM said.
Marivex was targeted after attempting to breach the blockade by heading toward an Iranian port, while Settebello was disabled for trying to transport Iranian oil, it added.
“CENTCOM forces have disabled nine non-compliant vessels, redirected 135 ships that complied, and allowed 42 vessels supporting humanitarian aid to pass since initiating the blockade on April 13.”
Earlier on Thursday, India reported the latest incident involving M/T Jalveer vessel off Oman, which carried 20 Indian seafarers and they were reported to be safe.
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