US Forces Disable Curaçao-Flagged Tanker Breaching Iran Blockade — First Third-Country Vessel Interdicted

On July 15, 2026, US forces disabled the Curaçao-flagged tanker M/T Belma in the Strait of Hormuz after it ignored warnings while heading toward Iran's Kharg Island. A US aircraft fired Hellfire missiles into the ship's smokestack. All prior blockade interdictions since May targeted Iranian-flagged vessels, making this the first involving a third-country-flagged ship — a distinction that could widen the conflict's diplomatic fallout.