UNIPA News|Tehran 16 July-The United States has disabled an oil tanker in the Gulf after alleging it was heading toward Iran’s largest oil export terminal in violation of a newly reimposed maritime blockade.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the tanker, Belma, ignored repeated warnings while approaching Iran’s Kharg Island oil terminal. According to the military, a US aircraft fired Hellfire missiles into the vessel’s smokestack, disabling the ship without targeting its hull.
The strike came one day after President Donald Trump reinstated a naval blockade on vessels traveling to or from Iranian ports. Washington said the measure was introduced in response to what it described as a series of Iranian attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, following renewed military exchanges between the United States and Iran.
CENTCOM said two additional commercial vessels complied with US instructions to alter their course and were redirected without incident.
Marine tracking data indicated that Belma, previously sanctioned by the United States under a former name for alleged links to Iran, entered the Gulf after transiting the Strait of Hormuz. The vessel was reportedly not carrying cargo and last transmitted its position approximately 100 kilometers southeast of Kharg Island before its tracking signal ceased.
Another US-sanctioned tanker, Fuyao, also changed course in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday, according to ship-tracking data. The vessel had been listed as bound for Pakistan with a cargo of crude oil before reversing direction toward Iranian waters. It remains unclear whether the maneuver was directly related to enforcement of the renewed blockade.
The maritime restrictions had previously been in effect from April 13 to June 18, during which US officials said more than 140 vessels were redirected and nine ships were disabled. The blockade and key sanctions on Iranian oil exports were suspended following a ceasefire agreement signed on June 17.
During the ceasefire period, Washington temporarily eased long-standing sanctions by issuing a license permitting the sale of Iranian oil and allowing payments in US dollars. Iranian officials later stated that the country had been exporting crude at prices approximately 20 percent higher than before the conflict.
Shipping analysts estimate that Iran exported at least 74 million barrels of oil between the lifting and reimposition of the blockade, with an estimated market value exceeding $6 billion.
The United States tightened restrictions again last week after accusing Iran of carrying out attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
Maritime traffic through the strategic waterway has declined sharply in recent days. Preliminary shipping data showed that only 11 fuel tankers and cargo vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, significantly below the pre-conflict daily average of approximately 138 crossings.
