QatarEnergy confirms oil tanker hit by missiles in Gulf waters

A fuel oil tanker chartered by QatarEnergy was hit by a missile in Qatar's northern territorial waters early on Wednesday, the company said. The vessel, Aqua 1, was struck in the early hours of April 1. None of the crew members was injured. 

Must Read: Diesel can cost Rs 193/litre if oil companies are allowed to pass on the costs

"Aqua 1, a fuel oil tanker on charter to QatarEnergy, has been the subject of a missile attack in the northern territorial waters of the State of Qatar in the early morning hours of Wednesday 1 April 2026," Qatar Energy said in a statement. "None of the crew members on board were injured, and there is no impact on the environment as a result of this incident."

A day earlier, a fully loaded crude oil tanker was set ablaze at Dubai port’s anchorage after being struck, according to Kuwait Petroleum Corp. Authorities said firefighting teams were deployed to control the blaze, and all 24 crew members were safe.

Must Read: Three-week wait at Hormuz: How this Indian LPG ship made it out of the war-hit strait

Last month, Iran struck a major natural gas facility in Qatar, disrupting production at one of the world's largest exporters of liquefied natural gas.

The damage has had a measurable impact on global supply. Iranian attacks knocked out 17% of Qatar's liquefied natural gas (LNG) export capacity, resulting in an estimated $20 billion in lost annual revenue, according to QatarEnergy's chief executive and state minister for energy affairs, Saad al-Kaabi.

Two of Qatar's 14 LNG trains and one of its two gas-to-liquids facilities were damaged in the strikes, sidelining 12.8 million tons per year of LNG output for three to five years, he said.

"I never in my wildest dreams would have thought that Qatar would be - Qatar and the region - ⁠in such an attack, especially from a brotherly Muslim country in the month of Ramadan, attacking us in this way," Kaabi said.

QatarEnergy has been forced to declare force majeure on LNG shipments bound for Italy, Belgium, South Korea, and China for up to five years. "I mean, these are long-term contracts that we have to declare force majeure. We already declared, but that was a shorter term. Now it's whatever the period is," Kaabi said.