Qatar LNG Tanker Attack: What Hit the Al Mayeda in the Gulf?

Qatar Gas Transport Company, known as Nakilat, has reported that its Q-Max liquefied natural gas carrier Al Mayeda was struck by unidentified objects while transiting the Gulf on the evening of October 30, with the ship carrying a Qatari cargo bound for Pakistan. The company stated on November 1 that none of the crew had been injured, that there had been no environmental impact, and that the vessel remained operational while the damage was being assessed. Ship tracking data showed the carrier turning back into the Gulf after the strike instead of continuing toward the Strait of Hormuz, and no party has claimed responsibility. The strike is far from the first on Qatar’s gas fleet, with Nakilat’s carrier Al Rekayyat having been hit by a projectile in the Strait of Hormuz on July 7, and it highlights how exposed the country’s exports remain even as Doha hosts the talks meant to reopen the waterway.

Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the attack on November 1 as a dangerous act threatening the safety of maritime navigation and the security of global energy supplies, and stated that the relevant authorities had opened investigations to establish the circumstances of the incident and identify those responsible. The ministry said Doha reserves the right to take all necessary measures under international law and the UN Charter “to protect its property, safeguard its interests and ensure the safety of its vessels and crews”, a considerably firmer register than Qatar has used while mediating between Washington and Tehran. Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs separately expressed the kingdom’s strongest condemnation of the targeting of the carrier. India’s Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, stated that all 25 crew members of the Marshall Islands flagged ship, six of them Indian nationals, were safe.

Nakilat’s account of an evening strike in the Gulf on October 30 matches a warning from the UK Maritime Trade Operations centre, which reported that a vessel about 40 nautical miles south of Lavan Island had been hit on its port side by a projectile at about 18:00 UTC that day, starting a fire on board. That warning named no ship, and neither the company nor the Qatari government has said where the Al Mayeda was hit or what struck it. The incident followed a limpet mine attack on a tanker off Khasab on October 29, and came amid a run of statements from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy claiming that tankers using what it calls an unauthorised southern route had struck naval mines, claims which have so far named no vessel, flag or owner.

The Al Mayeda is one of 14 Q-Max carriers built for Qatar’s export trade, the largest class of liquefied natural gas carrier in service, with each ship around 345 metres long and able to carry 266,000 cubic metres of gas. It was built by Samsung Heavy Industries in South Korea and delivered in February 2009, and it is owned by Nakilat. Qatar’s exports have been under severe strain since the war began on February 28, with Doha having signed a long-term deal for U.S. gas after its Ras Laffan complex was hit and the strait was closed to most traffic. Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs had made no comment on the attack on the carrier by November 2.