US disables two more vessels breaching Gulf of Oman blockade

U.S. Central Command said U.S. forces disabled three Iranian-flagged, unladen oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman this week as part of blockade enforcement actions aimed at stopping vessels from entering Iran.

On May 8, M/T Sea Star III and M/T Sevda were stopped before they could pull into an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman. A U.S. Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet launched from USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) disabled both tankers by firing precision munitions into their smokestacks, preventing the non-compliant ships from entering Iran, CENTCOM said.

On May 6, U.S. forces disabled the Iranian-flagged M/T Hasna as it attempted to sail to an Iranian port in the Gulf of Oman. An F/A-18 Super Hornet from USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) disabled the unladen oil tanker’s rudder by firing several rounds from a 20mm cannon gun.

All three vessels are no longer transiting to Iran.

“U.S. forces in the Middle East remain committed to full enforcement of the blockade of vessels entering or leaving Iran,” said Adm. Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander. “Our highly trained men and women in uniform are doing incredible work.”

CENTCOM said multiple commercial vessels have been disabled and more than 50 have been redirected to ensure compliance.