UKMTO: Two more ships struck by projectiles

Image: UKMTO

As UKMTO today posted news on further strikes on ships Windward AI reported hat Qatar has confirmed a full halt to gas production at Ras Laffan, the world’s largest LNG export hub, following extensive damage from an Iranian strike.

While the Iranian regime’s attacks on its Arab neighbors have been much in the headlines that does not mean that the Strait of Hormuz region is any safer for ships.

UKMTO today reported an incident four nautical miles east of Ras Laffan in which a vessel was struck by an unknown projectile. Unconfirmed media reports have identified that vessel as the Qatar-flagged offshore support vessel Halul 69.

UKMTO noted that the crew are reported safe and well.

Today’s incident came after UKMTO reported that yesterday a vessel was hit by an unknown projectile 11 nautical miles east of Khawr Fakkan, UAE.vA fire onboard resulted.

WHEN WILL THE STRAIT REOPEN?

In a post on X, CENTCOM reported today that “U.S. forces are destroying Iranian naval targets that threaten international shipping in and near the Strait of Hormuz.”

That came after a March 17 report from CENTCOM that U.S. forces successfully employed multiple 5,000-pound deep penetrator munitions on hardened Iranian missile sites along Iran’s coastline near the Strait of Hormuz.

Nobody is predicting that the strait will return to normal any time soon. However, the U.K. Prime Minister’s Office today released a Joint statement from the leaders of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Japan on the Strait of Hormuz that said, among other things, “we express our readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait. We welcome the commitment of nations who are engaging in preparatory planning.”

Quite which nations are “engaging in preparatory planning” was not clarified, but so far as the U.K. is concerned they certainly include the U.S.

A small team of British military planners has been sent to the United States to help draw up options to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the New York Times reports a British official as saying today,

The group has been sent to U.S. Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base, in Tampa, Fla., according to the official, says the NYT,

• You can read the full joint statement HERE