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A US military helicopter fired on a Panama-flagged merchant vessel on July 24 after the ship repeatedly tried to run a naval blockade of Iranian ports. The crew of the M/T Lavine ignored multiple warnings before the helicopter targeted the ship’s rudder, disabling the vessel without reported casualties.
The incident, confirmed by US Central Command, marks the second time the military has disabled a merchant ship since reimposing a blockade around July 14. Twelve other vessels have been redirected during that same window.
Four attempts, one outcome
According to CENTCOM, the vessel attempted to breach the blockade at least four times before military forces escalated to disabling fire. The helicopter struck the ship’s rudder, a targeted approach designed to immobilize rather than destroy. No casualties were reported aboard the Lavine, a notable contrast to earlier enforcement actions during the broader US-Iran conflict that did result in fatalities.
On July 15, just a day after the blockade was reimposed, the tanker Belma was disabled for similar violations.
The blockade’s backstory
The naval blockade was originally imposed on April 13, 2026, as the US-Iran conflict escalated sharply in the early months of the year. The blockade targets the Strait of Hormuz. Negotiations between the US and Iran to de-escalate the situation collapsed sometime before mid-July, prompting the reimposition of the blockade on July 14. Since that date, CENTCOM has redirected 12 vessels in addition to disabling the Belma and the Lavine.
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