The U.S. military disabled the steering apparatus of a Panama-flagged cargo vessel on Tuesday after it disregarded multiple directives to stop defying a naval blockade on ports in Iran.Central Command confirmed a U.S. Navy MH-60 helicopter struck the engine room of the Vela Nova with two Hellfire missiles."A U.S. Navy MH-60 helicopter fired two hellfire missiles into the Vela Nova’s engine room after the ship’s civilian crew ignored repeated warnings from American forces. The ship is no longer transiting to Iran in violation of the U.S. blockade, which remains in full effect.As of Aug. 11, CENTCOM has redirected 55 commercial vessels attempting to run the blockade, disabled 3 non-compliant vessels, and boarded 2.An MH-60 helicopter (Getty)“U.S. forces operating in the Middle East are highly vigilant, lethal, and ready," it said in a statement.It did not say if any crew members were wounded in the attack.The United States imposed a blockade on Iranian ports and coastal areas east of the Strait of Hormuz back in April. It was then lifted in June, when an interim ceasefire deal was reached, before being reinforced in mid-July.At the time the blockage began, President Donald Trump threatened that ships sailing from Iranian ports would be subject to “the same system of kill that we use against the drug dealers on boats at Sea”, referring to the administration’s controversial attacks on boats off the coast of Venezuela.The strait had been open before the war launched by the US and Israel on February 28.In response to the offensive, Tehran effectively closed the waterway to maritime traffic, which disrupted global oil and gas supplies and drove up fuel and food prices.Despite the initial deal with the US, Iran continued to exert leverage over the sea route by demanding ships seek permission to transit, raising the threat of future charges and attacking vessels.Tehran claims it controls the channel, while this is disputed by the US and other countries, which cite international law on freedom of navigation.