US Helicopter Fires Hellfire Missiles to Disable Blockade-Running Cargo Ship Vela Nova

A US Navy MH-60 helicopter fired two Hellfire missiles into the engine room and steering gear of the Panama-flagged cargo ship Vela Nova in the Gulf of Oman, roughly 71 nautical miles off the coast of Pakistan, after its civilian crew ignored repeated warnings and continued sailing toward an Iranian port in violation of the US naval blockade. CENTCOM said the vessel is 'no longer transiting to Iran.' A resulting fire was extinguished; all crew were accounted for with no injuries reported. It was the third vessel the US has forcibly disabled since reimposing the blockade on July 14; CENTCOM said it had redirected 55 commercial vessels attempting to run the blockade as of Aug 11.