The US Central Command (CENTCOM) released footage showing a strike on an unladen oil tanker attempting to sail toward an Iranian port in the Arabian Gulf on Wednesday.
Reuters was able to confirm the identity of the vessel as BELMA (IMO: 9289491) by the stern and mast that matched the archive imagery. The date when the video was filmed was not verified, however, ship tracking data showed the vessel in the Arabian Gulf near Kharg Island on July 15. No old results were found posted online before July 15.
In a post on X, US.Central Command said, "The commercial vessel ignored multiple warnings as it attempted to violate the US blockade. A US aircraft disabled the vessel after firing hellfire missiles into the ship’s smokestack. The ship is no longer transiting to Iran."
Hostilities have intensified since Iran said late on Saturday it had closed the Strait of Hormuz. Military operations are also keeping ships from transiting the vital artery, which carried about a fifth of global oil and gas shipments before the war.
Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, closed at a one-month high at $84.95 a barrel on Wednesday.