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48 min ago 2 min read
Ongoing concerns over shipping security in the Gulf and Strait of Hormuz have been highlighted by reports of three incidents.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) received a report of an incident west of Iran where an outbound cargo ship was fired upon “and is now stopped in the water”.
Another incident northeast of Oman involved a containership which was fired upon by an IRGC gun boat and suffered heavy damage to the bridge, according to UKMTO. In both incidents, crew were reported safe. A third cargo ship has also been attacked, according to maritime intelligence firm Vanguard.
The incidents followed US President Trump extending the ceasefire, which was due to end today (22 April), and continued of Iranian ports. Around 15 LNG tankers are currently stuck in and around the strait, according to Kpler data.
The conflict continues to upend global energy trade and international markets.
Data released today shows UK inflation rose 3.3% to March, largely driven by the rise in oil and gas prices.
QatarEnergy has begun a ‘staggered restart’ of two trains at Ras Laffan but the situation remains dynamic, and repairing heavily damaged sections may take up to five years.
Analysts at Wood Mackenzie believe the threat of prolonged disruption to energy and chemical exports has grown. Last week new risks were flagged to the .
While a peace agreement would lead to an initial rush of LNG vessels that are already laden or can load from storage, a return to full operation will take longer.
