What happened

UK Maritime Trade Operations initially reported an incident involving a container ship and military forces in the Gulf of Oman at 07:15 UTC without identifying the parties or outcome. US Central Command later identified the vessel as the Panama-flagged cargo ship M/V Vela Nova and acknowledged that a US Navy MH-60 helicopter fired two Hellfire missiles into its engine room. CENTCOM said the action disabled the vessel's steering after its civilian crew ignored repeated US warnings while sailing toward an Iranian port, and said the ship was no longer transiting to Iran. Al Jazeera's regional live coverage subsequently relayed the CENTCOM account, including the two-missile strike, steering-gear damage and the updated blockade totals of 55 vessels redirected, three disabled and two boarded as of 11 August. Those statements describe the US government's account and are not presented as an independent determination of the blockade's legality or the crew's conduct. Maritime-security firm Vanguard separately reported that the vessel was struck about 71 nautical miles off Pakistan and that the resulting fire was extinguished. No casualties or environmental impact were reported in the reviewed sources, and the vessel's cargo, full damage extent, crew disposition and subsequent destination remain unclear. The marker is approximate because neither UKMTO nor CENTCOM published coordinates.

When cited sources give different casualty, damage or spill figures for this event, they’re reported side by side above rather than merged into one number. See how confidence levels work.