A war between the United States and Iran intensified this Wednesday after a US attack hit an Iranian warship off Sri Lanka, deepening a crisis that has paralyzed maritime transport across the country. Strait of Hormuz for the fifth consecutive day and
The attack by the US submarine on the Iranian ship occurred at a time when the US president, Donald Trumppromised to provide insurance and naval escort to ships exporting oil and gas from , in a bid to contain rising energy prices.
At least 200 ships, including oil tankers and liquefied natural gas tankers, as well as cargo ships, remained anchored in open waters off the coast of major Gulf producers, including Iraq, Saudi Arabia e Qataraccording to Reuters estimates based on ship tracking data from the MarineTraffic platform.
Hundreds of other vessels remained outside Hormuz, unable to reach ports, according to shipping data. The waterway is a key artery for about a fifth of the world’s LNG supplies.
The Maltese-flagged container ship Safeen Prestige was also damaged by a projectile while sailing towards the northern end of the Strait of Hormuz, leading the crew to abandon ship, according to sources from maritime transport sector.
Qatar suspended its gas production and Iraq reduced its oil production as both ran out of storage space. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait were also struggling to load oil, but it was not yet clear whether they had reduced production.
