U.S. Central Command said the Curaçao-flagged tanker M/T Belma was disabled with Hellfire missiles on July 15 after it ignored warnings en route to Iran's Kharg Island. The statement also reported that the maritime blockade, resumed at 4:00 p.m. ET on July 14, resulted in two compliant vessels being redirected and one non-compliant vessel disabled during its first 24 hours.
CENTCOM released additional details on Thursday, July 16, clarifying that the first 24 hours of the resumed maritime blockade—which began at 4:00 p.m. ET on July 14 (23:00 Jerusalem)—resulted in two compliant vessels being redirected and one non-compliant vessel, the Curaçao-flagged tanker M/T Belma, being disabled. The Belma was struck by Hellfire missiles on July 15 after ignoring warnings while sailing toward Iran's Kharg Island oil terminal, as previously reported.
The Zioneer first reported the disablement at 00:17 Jerusalem on July 16. In a series of updates within the same bulletin, the desk reported that the vessel was the empty Belma, that Hellfire missiles struck its smokestack, and that it was rendered inoperable. A subsequent bulletin at 08:28 Jerusalem reiterated the details. The latest update adds that two other vessels complied and were redirected without incident during the first 24 hours.
The U.S. naval blockade has been in effect since April 13. As The Zioneer reported on June 12, CENTCOM had interdicted 9 vessels and turned back 136 by that date. The Belma disablement is the first publicly reported enforcement action since the blockade was resumed after a brief pause.
The current status of the Belma remains unclear; it was left inoperable but not destroyed. CENTCOM did not provide details on the identity or cargo of the two compliant vessels that were redirected. It is not known whether the blockade's resumption will lead to further interdictions.
8 developments
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Source and signal
- Internal intake