Tanker struck by projectiles north of Qatar amid escalating shipping attacks

A merchant tanker travelling towards the Strait of Hormuz was hit by several projectiles 51 nautical miles (94 km) north of Qatar, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency. The vessel, the Antigua and Barbuda‑flagged Acers, was reported to have suffered damage and casualties were confirmed.

The incident occurs against a backdrop of repeated attacks on commercial shipping since the United States and Israel’s war with Iran began in February. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) records 24 seafarers killed in 93 confirmed incidents to date, with the last documented casualty event occurring on 9 September when the Panama‑flagged tanker El Gaia was attacked just north of Oman’s Musandam peninsula.

Maritime intelligence firm Vanguard identified the damaged vessel and also noted a fire on board the Marshall Islands‑flagged Dhalkut in the Gulf of Oman two days earlier. The fire’s cause remains unclear, and the UKMTO has not reported an active incident in that area.

The Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and gas shipments normally pass, was effectively closed following Iran’s missile and drone assaults on commercial vessels and a US naval blockade of Iranian ports. Although a preliminary agreement to reopen the strait was reached in June, it collapsed when Iranian attacks resumed and the US reinstated its blockade. Iran has insisted on maintaining some level of control over the waterway and now targets vessels that use a southern route through Omani waters to avoid Iranian‑controlled passages.

To ensure the flow of Gulf Arab oil exports, the United States has been providing naval protection for tankers traversing the Strait of Hormuz. In the last fortnight, crude exports through the waterway averaged about 12 million barrels per day – roughly 80 % of pre‑war levels, according to shipping data firm Kpler.