United States forces disabled a Curaçao-flagged oil tanker as it sailed toward Iran's Kharg Island, US Central Command said. The *M/T Belma* had ignored repeated instructions to halt during an American naval blockade covering vessels travelling to or from Iranian ports and coastal areas.
An 18-second video released with CENTCOM's statement showed a US aircraft firing missiles into the vessel's smokestack. The command said the action left the ship disabled, but the supplied report did not state whether anyone was injured, whether oil escaped or what happened to the crew afterward. No account from the tanker operator was included.
The *Belma* was the first commercial vessel disabled by American forces after the blockade resumed on Tuesday. Two other ships complied with US warnings and were redirected, according to CENTCOM. The command said its forces remained prepared to enforce the restrictions fully.
Washington reinstated the blockade after fresh hostilities over traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. US attacks on Iran over the preceding weekend followed Iranian strikes against merchant ships using the passage. Iran said it had hit two tankers it called rogue vessels after they entered restricted routes and disregarded warnings. The supplied evidence did not independently assess those Iranian claims.
Both governments accused the other of breaking a memorandum of understanding signed the previous month in an attempt to stop the conflict. The renewed blockade and the disabling of the *Belma* illustrated how rapidly that arrangement had unravelled, with commercial vessels becoming direct subjects of military enforcement.
Kharg Island is an Iranian port destination in the Persian Gulf. CENTCOM described the ship as heading there when warnings were issued. It did not explain the tanker’s cargo, ownership, charter or precise distance from the island at the time it was struck. The flag designation and route therefore establish the vessel's identity and direction but not the commercial purpose of its voyage.
Disabling a smokestack can affect propulsion or safe operation, yet the short video and military statement did not provide a complete damage survey. The verified account remains limited to CENTCOM's own announcement and imagery: repeated stop orders were given, the tanker continued toward an Iranian port, a US aircraft fired on it, and American authorities classified the vessel as disabled. Independent confirmation of the circumstances and human consequences was not present in the packet.
The blockade applies in both directions, covering shipping bound for Iranian ports as well as vessels departing them. In this case, CENTCOM described an inbound voyage. The two redirected ships demonstrated that compliance could end in diversion rather than attack, while the *Belma* episode showed the consequence the command imposed after repeated refusal.
