Tanker Hit by Multiple Projectiles 94 km Off Qatar's North Coast, UKMTO Says

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said on Wednesday, 7 October 2026, that a tanker was struck by multiple projectiles 94 km (51 nautical miles) north of Madinat ash Shamal on Qatar's northern coast, and that a number of people were injured. The agency did not say how many were killed or hurt, or give the vessel's origin, and said the incident was being investigated. Qatar had not commented on the attack, which fell within its exclusive economic zone, at the time of the reports.

Al Jazeera reported that an attack on a vessel in the middle of the Persian Gulf is unusual, and that the Maritime Executive described it as the first reported attack on a tanker in the western half of the Gulf in weeks. On Tuesday, 6 October 2026, UKMTO had said nine attacks on tankers were recorded in the Strait of Hormuz so far this month, equal to half of September's total attacks in the strait and the Gulf combined.

Despite the attacks, Kpler data show the seven-day moving average of West Asian crude exports reached 18.3 million barrels per day on 30 September 2026, against an average of about 18 million barrels per day in the 12 months before the war. Higher insurance and freight costs are among the consequences of the insecurity for the oil market.