Smoke rises at an unknown location following what the U.S. Central Command says is a new wave of strikes against Iran on Tuesday after three tankers were hit by projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz, in this still image taken from video released July 7, 2026.
| Photo Credit:
U.S. Central Command/Handout via REUTERS
At least four oil and gas
tankers have turned back from attempting to transit the Strait
of Hormuz, ship-tracking data showed, as renewed attacks on
vessels in the critical waterway heightened safety and security
concerns.
The diversions come after a Qatari liquefied natural gas tanker and a Saudi-flagged crude oil tanker were damaged near the strait on Tuesday following reports that Iran fired missiles at ships in the waterway, prompting maritime authorities to raise the threat risk for transiting vessels to “severe.”
LNG tankers – Al Ghariya, Duhail and Al Ruwais – have all been inching westward towards the Strait of Hormuz before changing course to turn away late on Tuesday, showed data from analytics firms Kpler and LSEG. All three tankers controlled by
QatarEnergy were empty and heading towards Qatar’s Ras Laffan
export facility to load cargoes.
Meanwhile, LSEG and Kpler data also showed an Indian-flagged
tanker, carrying 2 million barrels of Kuwaiti crude loaded late
last week, made a U-turn off the tip of Oman at the Strait of
Hormuz on Wednesday.
At least 16 LNG cargoes from Ras Laffan and 10 from ADNOC’s
Das Island terminal in the United Arab Emirates have exited the
strait since the conflict began in late February. But this is
still a fraction of the roughly 7 million metric tons on average
typically shipped from both export hubs each month.
A queue of ballast or empty vessels waiting to load at Ras
Laffan has also built up, reaching more than 10 ships in early
July, according to Vortexa analysts.
Over 50 QatarEnergy- and ADNOC-controlled ballast vessels
are stationed around the Middle East Gulf, India and the Malacca
strait, with some switching off their Automatic Identification
System signals for more than 10 days, Vortexa added.
Still, at least two crude oil tankers managed to exit the
strait. The VLCC Tenjun, managed by Nippon Yusen KK and
carrying 2 million barrels of Qatari crude loaded in late
February, exited the Strait of Hormuz late on Tuesday.
VLCC Pertamina Pride, managed by Indonesia’s state energy
firm Pertamina, also exited the strait on Tuesday, with its
transponder switched off, shipping data showed. The vessel is
carrying 2 million barrels of Saudi crude loaded in early March.
Nippon Yusen declined to comment on the Tenjun tanker.
Pertamina did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Published on July 8, 2026
