Economy & Energy
Qatar: LNG carrier Al Mayeda struck in the Gulf, crew safe, says Nakilat
Qatar’s shipping company Nakilat confirmed on November 1 that its Q-Max LNG carrier Al Mayeda was hit by “unidentified objects” on the night of October 30 while sailing in the Gulf. No crew member was injured and the ship remains in operation.
A Q-Max class liquefied natural gas carrier, the largest in the fleet of Qatar’s Nakilat, was struck in the Gulf. The Qatari shipping company Nakilat (Qatar Gas Transport Company) confirmed on Sunday, November 1 that the LNG carrier Al Mayeda was hit by “unidentified objects” on the night of Friday, October 30, while sailing in the Gulf.
Ship safe and operating
In a short statement, also published through the Qatar Stock Exchange, the company says that no crew member was injured and that there was no impact on the environment. The ship is in a safe condition and remains in operation, while the consequences of the incident are being assessed. Nakilat says it is coordinating directly with the vessel, the crew and the competent maritime security authorities in the region and is monitoring the situation closely.
One of Nakilat’s 14 Q-Max carriers
The Al Mayeda belongs to the Q-Max class, as shown in the company’s fleet list. Nakilat has 14 such ships, with a capacity of 263,000 to 266,000 cubic metres each, against 210,000 to 217,000 for its Q-Flex and 145,000 to 174,000 for its conventional ships. Altogether its fleet comprises 66 LNG carriers with a capacity of more than 14.28 million cubic metres, about 11% of global LNG carrying capacity.
The worst month of the war for shipping
With the Al Mayeda, a Qatari ship is added to the long list of merchant ships struck in the war of the US and Israel with Iran, which began in February. According to figures from the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and Britain’s UKMTO, cited by Al Jazeera, more than 120 merchant ships have been hit since the start of the war. October, with at least 29 ships struck, was the worst month of the war, ahead of March with 20 attacks.
Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz from the early stages of the war and has repeatedly warned that ships that try to pass without its permission will face “destruction”. Attacks intensified from July, when the US reinstated the blockade of Iran’s southern ports. Over the last two days Oman’s Navy rescued 25 seamen from a burning merchant ship and the Revolutionary Guards reported that tankers had hit mines.
