Qatar condemns Iranian attack on LNG tanker

Qatar has condemned an Iranian attack on one of its liquefied natural gas tankers near the Strait of Hormuz, after the vessel was hit by a projectile and caught fire.

The attack early on Tuesday was the latest targeting a vessel moving through the Gulf’s critical waterway, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas passed before the US-Israel war on Iran began in late February.

“The targeting of the Qatari tanker ‘Al Rekayyat’ as it passed near the Strait of Hormuz constitutes an unacceptable assault on the security and safety of international navigation and global energy supplies, and a grave and blatant violation of international law, particularly the rules guaranteeing freedom of maritime navigation and safe passage through international waterways,” Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari wrote on X.

“We hold Iran fully legally responsible for this assault and any resulting damages or consequences.”

Iranian state television said the liquefied natural gas tanker came under attack after ignoring warnings, but Tehran did not directly claim the assault.

The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) centre said the tanker had been hit near Limah, Oman, in the strait. The projectile hit the port side of the vessel while it was trying to travel south out of the strait towards the Gulf of Oman, UKMTO said.

The agency said there were no reports of casualties or environmental damage, adding that authorities were investigating the incident.‌

UKMTO later reported that two other ships had been hit on Tuesday in separate attacks. It said one was struck by a drone, sustaining minor structural damage while the other, which was hit by an unidentified projectile, was believed to have sustained structural damage. In both cases, nobody was wounded.

-Al Jazeera/AP