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The ministry shared a social media post by Majed al-Ansari, a spokesperson and advisor to Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, via its official channels.
He said in the post that the targeting of the LNG carrier “constitutes an unacceptable attack on the security and safety of international maritime navigation, the security of global energy supplies, and a grave & explicit violation of international law, particularly the rules guaranteeing freedom of navigation and safe passage through international waterways.”
“We demand that the Islamic Republic of Iran immediately cease all practices that undermine regional security or threaten the safety of international maritime navigation, and refrain from endangering global energy supplies & the resources of the countries of the region in pursuit of narrow interests,” al-Ansari said.
“We hold it fully legally responsible for this attack and for any resulting damages and consequences,” he said.
LNG Prime contacted Nakilat, the Qatari LNG shipping giant, to comment on the incident, but we did not receive a response by the time this article was published.
In 2020, Nakilat took full control of the 216,300-cbm Al Rekayyat from Shell’s trading and shipping unit as part of the second phase of its fleet management transition.
The 315-meter-long vessel serves under a long-term charter contract with Qatari LNG producer QatarEnergy LNG, a unit of QatarEnergy.
Fully laden
According to several reports, the vessel is fully laden with LNG from the giant Ras Laffan LNG complex, operated by QatarEnergy LNG.
The vessel reportedly turned off its AIS transponder during the Strait of Transit transit on Monday.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said early on Tuesday that it has “received a report of an incident 8NM east of Limah, Oman.”
“A tanker has reported being hit by an unknown projectile on the port side causing a fire, whilst traveling southbound. No casualties or environmental impact reported,” UKMTO said.