By Jack Phillips
Contributing Writer
The U.S. military command in charge of operations in the Middle East has said it disabled an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman that violated its naval blockade of Iranian ports.
An F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet fired a precision munition into the Palau-flagged M/T Marivex’s engineering and steering areas as it was transiting toward Iran, according to the U.S. Central Command. The vessel’s crew didn’t comply with directions from the U.S. military, it said.
The Marivex, it said on X on Sunday, “is no longer sailing to Iran” after it was disabled. The tanker is roughly 442 feet in length.
CENTCOM added that it has disabled seven non-compliant vessels, redirected 134 other ships, and allowed 42 vessels with humanitarian aid to pass through as part of the U.S. naval blockade that started on April 13.
The U.S. military has prevented any ships from entering and exiting Iranian ports as part of the blockade, which came after Tehran effectively shut down commercial traffic in the Strait of Hormuz since hostilities between the United States and Iran started on Feb. 28.
Last week, a U.S. fighter plane fired a Hellfire missile at the Botswana-flagged M/T Lexie oil tanker that was sailing toward Kharg Island, an Iranian oil port, said CENTCOM. In that incident, the Lexie’s crew did not heed warnings from the U.S. military command and did not comply with directions over a 24-hour period.
Reuters contributed to this report.
