A U.S. military helicopter fired on a merchant vessel trying to traverse the United States’s Strait of Hormuz blockade, the first such instance in weeks.

A Navy MH-60 helicopter fired two Hellfire missiles at the Panama-flagged M/V Vela Nova in the predawn hours of Tuesday, disabling its steering gear, according to U.S. Central Command. The strike was carried out after the crew ignored repeated U.S. warnings to halt.