Key Takeaways:
A Qatari LNG tanker was struck by a projectile near the Strait of Hormuz, testing a fragile US-Iran agreement and sending shipping rates above $300,000 a day.
A Qatari LNG tanker was struck by a projectile near the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, testing the US-Iran interim agreement as ship traffic through the chokepoint fell to just 7 vessels from 25 a day earlier.
"The start-stop nature of the re-opening of Hormuz is continuing to inject volatility into Middle Eastern tanker markets," ship broker BRS said in a report this week.
The Al Rekayyat, loaded with liquefied natural gas, was hit on its port side about 8 nautical miles east of Limah, Oman, according to people familiar with the matter. A fire broke out in the engine room and the crew was evacuated, with the vessel now awaiting salvage operations. A Saudi-flagged crude tanker, the Wedyan, was also damaged off Oman's coast. A third vessel, a Liberia-flagged LPG tanker, was ordered by Iranian forces to change course and sail closer to Iran's coast.
The attacks underscore the persistent risks to shipping in the waterway despite safe passage provisions in the interim agreement between Washington and Tehran. Average daily rates to load a ship inside the Gulf reached almost $300,000, up from below $200,000 last week, as shipowners weigh the cost of transiting a chokepoint that carried about 125 ships daily before the conflict began on Feb. 28.
Salvage Underway as Crew Evacuated
The Al Rekayyat's captain issued a mayday call after the strike, reporting the engine room was "full of smoke" and that he was unable to assess further damage. The vessel is owned and managed by Nakilat, also known as Qatar Gas Transport Company, which operates one of the world's largest LNG shipping fleets. LSEG shipping data showed the vessel last transmitted its location on June 18, indicating its AIS tracking transponder was switched off.
Qatar's foreign ministry said Tehran bore full legal responsibility for the attack. Saudi Arabia's Foreign Affairs Ministry condemned the strikes on Saudi and Qatari vessels, calling them "an assault on the security and safety of international navigation, and on the security of global energy supplies." Tehran did not immediately comment. A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said initial indications were that Iran had fired at two commercial vessels.
Shipping Rates Surge as Traders Reprice Risk
The attacks triggered an immediate response in freight markets. Crude oil tanker rates pushed higher again on Tuesday, with average daily rates to load a ship inside the Gulf reaching almost $300,000 after dropping below $200,000 last week as more sailings resumed. A separate LNG tanker made a U-turn on Tuesday after sailing toward the strait, LSEG ship tracking showed.
Ship traffic through the strait had picked up over the past week, averaging 25 to 40 ships sailing daily, but remained far below the pre-conflict average of 125 ships. The number of vessels sailing through both sides of the strait early Tuesday reached just 7, down from 25 on Monday, according to analysis from Kpler.
The incident is the first time an LNG ship from Qatar — a key mediator in talks between Washington and Tehran — has been struck since the Iran war began at the end of February. The Al Rekayyat is loaded with LNG, raising the stakes for salvage operations as any escalation could further disrupt flows through a waterway that handles about 20 percent of global oil and LNG transit.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
