US says it fired missiles to disable ship breaking Iran blockade - BBC News

US Central Command says its helicopter hit the engine room of a Panama-flagged cargo vessel in the Gulf of Oman.

Image source, US Central CommandImage caption, Centcom says its helicopter fired two hellfire missiles on the Panama-flagged ship

The US military says one of its helicopters has fired missiles to disable "the steering gear" of a cargo ship attempting to violate the US blockade of Iranian ports.

In a statement, US Central Command (Centcom) says its MH-60 aircraft on Tuesday fired two hellfire missiles into the engine room of the Panama-flagged M/V Vela Nova vessel, as it attempted to transit the Gulf of Oman.

Centcom said it acted after "the ship's civilian crew ignored repeated warnings from American forces". The vessel "is no longer transiting to Iran", it added.

Iran has not commented. The US has been enforcing a blockade of Iranian ports, following failed attempts to end the war it and Israel started on 28 February.