U.S. forces strike oil tanker sailing toward Iran's Kharg Island

WASHINGTON, June 2 (Xinhua) -- U.S. forces on Tuesday disabled an unladen oil tanker that was trying to sail toward Iran's Kharg Island, the U.S. Central Command said.

A U.S. warplane fired a Hellfire missile into the engine room of the Botswana-flagged tanker, the M/T Lexie, as it transited international waters toward the major Iranian oil hub in the Persian Gulf, the command said in a statement on X.

"The ship's crew ignored repeated warnings, failing to comply with directions from U.S. forces multiple times over a 24-hour period," said the statement.

Radio communications recordings obtained exclusively by Xinhua from a crew member aboard a stranded commercial vessel near the Strait of Hormuz confirmed the attack.

In one recording, the aircraft can be heard saying: "This is U.S. Aircraft. We are going to fire upon your engine room. Evac(uate) your engine room."

Shortly afterward, a distress call believed to have originated from the tanker said: "Mayday, Mayday. Motor Tanker LEXIE. Fire is in the engine room, and we are abandoning the ship."

It was not immediately clear whether the strike caused any casualties or injuries.

The oil tanker was added to the sanctions list of the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Department of the Treasury in March 2025 for its alleged involvement in the Iranian oil trade.

On May 30, the U.S.-led Joint Maritime Information Center said in a notice that restrictions imposed by the U.S. military on Iranian ports remained in effect and that vessels were prohibited from entering or leaving Iranian ports.