U.S. Forces Disable Iran-Linked Tanker Lexie Near Strait of Hormuz – Sixth Vessel Taken Out - News and Statistics

Jun 3, 2026

U.S. forces have disabled another tanker near the Strait of Hormuz, raising the total number of vessels taken out of service to six, as reported by The Maritime Executive.

On June 2, U.S. Central Command observed the stateless tanker Lexie moving toward Kharg Island, a key Iranian oil export terminal. Empty tankers like Lexie can allow Iran to boost its production capacity via floating storage, and Centcom has been blocking such inbound traffic with notable success.

The command stated that U.S. forces repeatedly ordered the Lexie’s crew to stop, but the tanker ignored those warnings for a full day. To halt the vessel, a U.S. aircraft launched a small Hellfire guided missile at the Lexie’s engine room, disabling the ship and preventing it from reaching Iran. Official video footage of this incident, consistent with prior Centcom blockade-enforcement strikes, shows no sign that the tanker was actively moving toward a destination at the time of the recorded impact.

This marks the sixth Iran-linked ship that Centcom has disabled so far. The strike adds to a series of exchanges of fire between U.S. and Iranian assets over the past week, though a ceasefire between the two sides remains in effect.

The Lexie, also known as Lexi, is a 300,000 deadweight ton crude oil tanker built in 2001. According to its Equasis record, it falsely claims to be registered with the landlocked African nation of Botswana, which does not operate an international ship registry but is often used as a false flag by shadow fleet vessels like the Lexie. The ship has a history of false flagging, previously claiming registration in the Comoros Islands and Samoa. The U.S. government has sanctioned the Lexie for involvement in the Iranian oil trade, and Ukraine has sanctioned it for involvement in the Russian oil trade.

AIS data from Pole Star Global shows the Lexie spent much of the past three months operating with its transponder likely turned off. When visible, it broadcast a location at the northern end of the Gulf of Oman, near the Strait of Hormuz and Kharg Island. Its last known position was received on May 26.

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