U.S. military says it attacked a tanker sailing under Curaçao flag; Curacao denies
The United States military has fired missiles at a tanker sailing under the Curaçao flag. On X, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said that the empty tanker was en route to a port in Iran. Curaçao denies that it was their ship.
The U.S. has banned all shipping to and from Iranian ports. CENTCOM said that the Curaçao ship violated the American blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
“The commercial vessel ignored multiple warnings as it attempted to violate the U.S. blockade. A U.S. aircraft disabled the vessel after firing hellfire missiles into the ship’s smokestack. The ship is no longer transiting to Iran,” CENTCOM wrote.
The Curaçao Ministry of Traffic, Transport and Spatial Planning responded that the island currently does not possess any oil tankers sailing under the Curaçao flag. "The reporting appears to relate to a so-called dark fleet: ships operating with forged, misleading, or unlawfully used registrations and flags to circumvent international sanctions and controls," the Ministry said.
The Strait of Hormuz is a crucial area in the war between the U.S. and Iran. The Strait is a very important shipping route for oil, and Iran is putting pressure on the U.S. by blocking it.
U.S. president Donald Trump, in turn, is blocking shipping to and from Iran. According to RTL Nieuws, Trump says that the Strait of Hormuz is open to shipping under American protection, but Iran says that no ships are being let through.
Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has been severely restricted since the U.S. and Israel launched their first attacks on Iran on February 28. Oil prices, and as a result also fuel prices, have been climbing ever since.
