Second LNG tanker carrying Qatari cargo hit in Hormuz within a month as force majeure expands
A second LNG tanker loaded in Qatar was struck in the Strait of Hormuz last Friday, compounding disruptions to Qatari exports and prompting wider force majeure notices. Insurance costs are rising as security risks escalate.
A liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker loaded in Qatar came under attack last Friday while leaving the Strait of Hormuz, marking the second such incident in less than a month. The UK Maritime Trade Operations reported that an unidentified vessel was hit by a projectile off the Omani coast. Security consultancies Vanguard Tech and Marisks identified the ship as the GasLog Shanghai, and GasLog confirmed that all crew members were safe and the tanker remained stable.
The vessel had taken on its cargo in Qatar around the previous Monday and ceased transmitting its position near the western entrance of the strait on Friday. The ownership of the LNG on board remains unclear, and QatarEnergy has not responded to inquiries about the cargo or any impact on shipments.
Hormuz is Qatar's sole maritime route for LNG exports, and Qatar supplies roughly 77 million tonnes per year, making it the world's second-largest exporter after Australia. Almost all of that volume transits the strait. On 7 July, a Qatari-owned tanker, the Al Rekayyat, was attacked near the waterway, prompting a three-week halt in Qatari LNG shipments through it.
Jean-Christian Heintz, managing director of Switzerland-based LNG consultancy Wideangle LNG, called the second incident a major setback. "This is a blow to Qatar's perseverance in mitigating the effects of the crisis," he said, adding that the risk assessment is similar whether QatarEnergy uses its own fleet or chartered vessels.
Days earlier, a drone struck the Energos Winter at Egypt's Damietta port, and the resulting fire spread to another GasLog-managed vessel, the GasLog Salem. No group has claimed responsibility for that attack.
QatarEnergy has been operating under force majeure for some contracts since March, when Iranian attacks on the Ras Laffan industrial complex and the subsequent closure of the Strait of Hormuz disrupted production and shipping. Two production trains at Ras Laffan were damaged. Italian utility Edison said QatarEnergy informed it of three more undelivered LNG cargoes, extending force majeure through the end of September. In total, 24 cargoes scheduled for Edison between April and September, amounting to roughly 3 billion cubic metres of natural gas, are now covered by force majeure. Edison has replaced 17 of those cargoes and says it still meets customer commitments. Its 25-year supply deal with QatarEnergy, signed in 2009, covers 6.4 billion cubic metres per year.
Heintz sees little reason for QatarEnergy to lift force majeure while security remains unresolved. Each new incident pushes shipowners, cargo traders, and insurers to reassess the costs of transiting Hormuz. "Insurance premiums, both for ships and the cargoes they carry, can only rise from this point," he said. Global gas markets have already adjusted significantly, but the latest incidents, combined with strong European demand to refill storage before winter, are "certainly bullish for prices," Heintz concluded.
