Qatari LNG ship struck in Strait of Hormuz, testing US talks
The attacks come as US President Donald Trump headed to a Nato leaders’ summit
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A LADEN liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier was struck by a projectile near the Omani coast as it exited the Strait of Hormuz, a fresh attack that will fuel unease among shipowners and producers and tests a late-June peace deal intended to halt attacks in the waterway.
The Al Rekayyat was hit in the early hours of Tuesday (Jul 7), according to sources familiar who did not want to be named discussing sensitive matters. The vessel, owned by Qatar’s state-owned shipping company Nakilat, appeared to be travelling without its transponders on, ship-tracking data show.
Axios reported earlier that two merchant vessels had been struck by Iranian missiles, without naming the ships. Both vessels suffered significant damage but there were no casualties, Axios cited an unidentified US official as saying.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations centre also said late Monday local time that it received a report of a tanker being struck by an unknown projectile about eight nautical miles (15 kilometres) east of Limah, Oman, immediately outside the narrowest portion of the strait.
Safety in the waterway is crucial to shipowners who are waiting to dispatch vessels out of the Persian Gulf and into it, to load cargoes from some of the world’s top oil and gas producers. Traffic through the strait has been resuming but with interruptions, and there is still little clarity over a permanent solution for passages through the chokepoint.
An attack on a Qatari LNG tanker is also a direct threat to the country’s plans to revive shipments from the world’s largest LNG facility.
Al Rekayyat had picked up an LNG shipment from Qatar’s Ras Laffan facility earlier this month, the sources said. QatarEnergy and Nakilat did not respond to a request for comment.
European gas prices climbed as much as 4.1 per cent in early trading in Asia, while Brent oil futures ticked higher on the news. Oil prices have plunged in recent days as the prospect of more vessels being able to transit the strait prompted concerns the market will soon be oversupplied.
The attacks come as US President Donald Trump headed to a Nato leaders’ summit in Ankara, Turkey. The US war with Iran is expected to be a major topic of discussion, with Trump having expressed anger at several members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization for not doing more to help the US against the Islamic Republic.
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Talks between the US and Iran were suspended as Iran began a mass funeral a few days ago for the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed on the first day of the war in late February. Qatar said that the next meeting would be scheduled as soon as possible after the funeral ceremonies. Khamenei is scheduled to be buried in his hometown of Mashhad on Jul 9.
Iran has sought to assert control over Hormuz, through which a fifth of all oil moved before the war, since it reached the interim peace deal with the US last month. Only three vessels sailed along the Omani corridor with their transponders on on Monday, Kpler data show. Regional naval forces issued an update reminding shipowners that the US-managed Oman route remained available for use. BLOOMBERG
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