US military disables first tanker in Arabian Sea since blockade was reimposed

The U.S. military disabled an unladen oil tanker attempting to sail to an Iranian port in the Arabian Gulf on Wednesday, the first instance of the U.S. forces crippling a vessel since President Trump reimposed the naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz this week.

A U.S. fighter jet struck M/T Belma, a Curacao-flagged tanker that is nearly 1,100 feet long and about 200 feet wide, with a Hellfire missile in the ship’s smokestack, disabling the vessel that ignored multiple warnings as it was transiting international waters toward Kharg Island, according to the U.S. Central Command (Centcom).

The naval blockade, which was lifted last month, was reinstated Tuesday evening. So far, the U.S. military has redirected two compliant commercial vessels within the first 24 hours, Centcom said.

The U.S. forces redirected over 140 compliant ships, disabled nine and allowed more than commercial vessels backing humanitarian aid to pass through the blockade during the first instance of the blockade, which lasted between April and June 18.

Pentagon estimated that the first iteration of the blockade cost Iran around $4.8 billion in oil revenue as of May 1, The Hill reported.

The U.S. military has resumed strikes against Iran at President Trump’s direction, striking hundreds of targets along the coast of the Strait of Hormuz. The kinetic action continued on Wednesday with U.S. forces attacking the country two separate times in what the U.S. officials have described as an effort to prevent Iran from targeting commercial ships attempting to transit the waterway.

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