According to Reuters, on June 2, the U.S. Central Command released a video showing a Hellfire missile hitting a Botswana-flagged oil tanker named Lexi. The video showed that the missile struck the engine room of the tanker, causing it to lose power and become unable to navigate.
Video Screenshots
At the time of the incident, the ship was sailing towards the Iranian island of Kharg. The U.S. Central Command stated that within 24 hours, the crew of the ship repeatedly ignored repeated warnings from the U.S. military and refused to comply with military orders. As a result, U.S. fighter jets launched Hellfire missiles at the oil tanker, preventing it from sailing towards Iran.
Since the United States imposed a naval blockade on Iran on April 13th, the Lexi has become the sixth ship to be stopped by US forces. The US side states that as of now, 122 ships that were originally scheduled to enter or leave Iranian ports have been ordered to take alternative routes.
Public information indicates that the Lexi is an oil tanker built in 2001, with a capacity of 300,000 tons.
According to reports published by the American website Maritime Executive, based on data from the Equasis ship tracking database, this vessel has a Botswana registry. Botswana is an inland African country that does not have a formal international ship registration system. As a result, its registry is often misused by ships belonging to phantom fleets.
