Qatari tanker ablaze as Iran resumes Strait of Hormuz missile attacks

Something hit the Al Rekayyat on Monday evening. The Qatari LNG tanker was crossing the Strait of Hormuz, roughly eight nautical miles east of Limah on the Omani coast, when a projectile struck its engine room on the port side. Fire started. Smoke spread.

UK Maritime Trade Operations reported the incident shortly after. U.S. officials confirmed that Iran had fired at least two missiles at commercial shipping in the strait. The tanker, operated by Nakilat of Qatar, was one of the targets. A second tanker suffered damage in the same attacks. Neither crew reported casualties.

The strikes break a pause in hostilities that had lasted just under three weeks. In mid-June, Iran signed a memorandum of understanding agreeing to halt attacks on commercial shipping through the strait. That deal appeared to hold. Then it did not. Iran issued no formal claim of responsibility. Its state television, quoting unnamed sources, implied Tehran was behind the assault.

The Strait of Hormuz had been at the centre of a prolonged maritime crisis that cut oil and gas flows for months. Traffic levels had started to climb again after the June agreement. What happens next is unclear.