US stops ship – fired a missile into the engine room

TT

Published 20.40

 

The US has been blocking all maritime traffic to and from Iranian ports since April, and has since stopped several ships in the Gulf of Oman. Archive photo. Photo: Fatima Shbair/AP/TT

US forces have stopped another merchant ship as part of the naval blockade of Iranian ports.

The Gambian-flagged ship Lian Star is said to have ignored more than 20 warnings on Friday as it headed towards Iran's coastline, the US military command Centcom wrote in a statement.

A US fighter jet then fired a missile into the ship's engine room.

"The ship is no longer on its way to Iran," Centcom wrote.

The ship is now adrift in the Gulf of Oman and has not been boarded by US forces, a source familiar with the matter told the AP.

The US has seized five merchant ships and diverted 116 since the naval blockade went into effect in April, according to Centcom.