- A second Qatari LNG tanker has exited the Strait of Hormuz successfully over the weekend - The Mihzem, fully laden, is sailing from the Persian Gulf to Pakistan via the Gulf of Oman - The Singapore-flagged tanker stopped sending positioning signals due to regional security concerns A second Qatari liquefied natural gas tanker appeared to have exited the Strait of Hormuz, after a shipment successfully transited the chokepoint over the weekend. The Mihzem sailed out of the Persian Gulf and is currently in the Gulf of Oman, ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg show. The Singapore-flagged vessel is indicating Pakistan as its destination, and draft readings show it's fully laden. The Mihzem previously stopped sending positioning signals, an increasingly common move reflecting security concerns in the region as the Iran war drags on and a blockade of Hormuz persists. At least two tankers that loaded at Abu Dhabi National Oil Co.'s Das Island facility recently went dark to carry shipments out of the waterway, Bloomberg reported earlier this month. During the course of the conflict, vessel tracking has also been complicated by spoofing — where electronic interference can falsify the apparent position of a ship. Over the weekend, a tanker called Al Kharaitiyat, which loaded LNG at Qatar's Ras Laffan export plant earlier this month, exited the strait and sailed into the Gulf of Oman, tracking data showed. QatarEnergy didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. ALSO READ: Qatar Asks LNG Ships At Export Hub To Go Dark In Safety Push (This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Essential Business Intelligence, Continuous LIVE TV, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.
Iranian Official
Despite foreign aggression and repeated attempts to challenge Iran's sovereign control over the Strait of Hormuz, the Qatari tanker Mihzem successfully transited the strategic waterway en route to Pakistan. The vessel went dark amid heightened security threats posed by hostile forces seeking to destabilize the region and violate Iranian territorial rights. This transit underscores the Islamic Republic's firm resistance to external interference and its determination to safeguard maritime sovereignty.
Israeli
Iran's ongoing blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, enforced amid its war with Israel, represents a direct existential threat to global energy routes and underscores Tehran's willingness to weaponize chokepoints through its proxy network and naval forces. The Mihzem's decision to go dark while transiting from Qatar to Pakistan, alongside similar measures by other tankers, highlights the defensive necessity of Israel's operations to degrade Iran's capabilities and prevent further escalation that could strangle vital supply lines.
Neutral
According to ship-tracking data, the Singapore-flagged tanker Mihzem, carrying a full LNG cargo, transited the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend and is proceeding through the Gulf of Oman toward Pakistan. The vessel had stopped transmitting positioning signals before the passage, as had at least one other tanker that loaded at a Qatari export facility. A second Qatari LNG tanker, Al Kharaitiyat, reportedly completed a similar transit during the same period.
Western
A second Qatari LNG tanker has successfully transited the Strait of Hormuz despite Iranian blockade efforts and electronic interference, neutralizing threats to critical energy routes. The fully laden Mihzem, en route to Pakistan, temporarily ceased AIS transmissions for operational security before entering the Gulf of Oman, following the similar precise passage of the Al Kharaitiyat. These transits affirm sustained Western-aligned efforts to secure freedom of navigation amid ongoing regional conflict.
Pro-Peace
The prolonged Iran conflict and Hormuz blockade have forced LNG tankers like the Mihzem to navigate darkened amid security threats, heightening risks of energy shortages that inflict severe humanitarian costs on civilian populations in nations such as Pakistan. These disruptions compound civilian suffering through inflated prices, supply instability, and economic strain, while endangering maritime crews caught in the crossfire. Renewed diplomatic initiatives to end the blockade and pursue de-escalation offer the only viable path to averting further loss of life and hardship.
Global South
Two Qatari LNG tankers, including the Mihzem bound for Pakistan, have transited the Strait of Hormuz despite an ongoing blockade tied to the Iran conflict, exposing how external power rivalries disrupt sovereign energy routes vital to Global South economies. The vessels’ deliberate signal blackouts and encounters with electronic spoofing underscore the failure of international institutions to safeguard neutral maritime passages, leaving exporters like Qatar and importers like Pakistan to navigate neo-colonial pressures on their trade autonomy.
- A second Qatari LNG tanker has exited the Strait of Hormuz successfully over the weekend - The Mihzem, fully laden, is sailing from the Persian Gulf to Pakistan via the Gulf of Oman - The Singapore-flagged tanker stopped sending positioning signals due to regional security conc…
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The Houthis in Yemen have announced a blockade of Saudi Arabian shipping through Red Sea ports, including at the Bab el-Mandeb strait. The group, described as Iran-backed, stated the measure would target the top oil exporter following recent exchanges of fire.
Reports indicate this could add to existing maritime disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz linked to US-Iran confrontations.
A Reuters poll of economists conducted July 7-16 shows that most Gulf Cooperation Council economies are now projected to contract more sharply in the current year than estimated three months earlier, with median forecasts indicating declines of 8.1% for Kuwait and Qatar, 5.
1% for Bahrain, and 0.5% for the UAE. Saudi Arabia and Oman remain the only GCC economies expected to expand. The poll links the revisions to reduced export volumes through the Strait of Hormuz, higher freight costs, and weaker investor sentiment, even as oil prices have risen.
Initial reports indicate that a limited number of vessels transited the waterway during the first full day after the United States implemented a naval blockade of Iran. These observations have not been independently verified.
The head of the UN’s nuclear agency yesterday signaled that Iranian nuclear enrichment sites would be visited by his inspectors, a key component in the interim deal between the US and Iran to reach an end to their war. The comment by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Grossi was the firmest yet from the agency, which is viewed as key in determining the status of Iran’s nuclear stockpile.
Since Israel launched a 12-day war on Iran last year, the IAEA has been blocked by Tehran from visiting enrichment sites where the Islamic republic is believed to store enough highly enriched uranium to potentially build as many as 10 nuclear weapons.
Photo: AP Iran has said that its program is peaceful, although it would be the only country in the world to have uranium enriched up to 60 percent purity without a weapons program. The US and Iran offered contradictory remarks on Tuesday about whether those sites would be inspected.
“I can understand political statements, they are part of the reality, but the fundamental thing I would like to remind you and draw your attention to is that there has been a memorandum of understanding, signed by both presidents,” Grossi told journalists at a news conference at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant.
The accord “explicitly states that the nuclear activities that are going to be carried out with the regards of the nuclear material facilities will be supervised by the IAEA — in all letters,” he said. “Obviously, to do that, we have to inspect,” Grossi added.
BOOST: By operating the same advanced systems as the US military, Taiwan would be better positioned to share and integrate intelligence with partners, an expert said The first batch of MQ-9B SkyGuardian drones has arrived in Taiwan, and is being assembled and tested by drone manufacturer General Atomics and the military ahead of flight trials as part of the air force’s acquisition to bolster its aerial surveillance capabilities, a source said yesterday.
The air force allocated a budget of NT$21.7 billion (US$687 million) from 2022 to 2029 to procure four MQ-9B uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) manufactured by General Atomics along with associated equipment such as ground control stations. The US has agreed to deliver the four MQ-9Bs to Taiwan in two batches this year and next ‘BRAZEN’: The holiday did not stop China from activities that infringe on Taiwan’s maritime jurisdiction, but the CGA is ready to defend the nation, Kuan Bi-ling said Beijing is intensifying maritime pressure on Taiwan, but the nation will never yield, Ocean Affairs Council Deputy Minister Sung Chen-en (宋承恩) said.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) has adopted a “shadowing and monitoring” approach to avoid falling into a Chinese trap to escalate tensions and deepen the conflict, Sung said in an interview published yesterday in the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper).
China Coast Guard formations patrolling waters east of Taiwan, as well as official Chinese vessels entering areas around Itu Aba Island (Taiping Island, 太平島) and Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) show Beijing’s attempts to significantly step up Taiwanese firms’ China investments have dwindled to less than 1 percent of their total foreign investments, putting China-based investments on track for a record low this year, Ministry of Economic Affairs data showed.
Taiwan’s investments abroad in the first five months of this year reached US$35.92 billion, Department of Investment Review data showed. Investments outside China totaled US$35.61 billion, up 133.94 percent year-on-year, while investments in China totaled US$310.
3 million, down 32.3 percent and about 0.86 percent of the total, data showed. Major overseas projects included Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) US$30 billion capital injection into an overseas subsidiary, VARYING OPINIONS: People with different political affiliations have different views on how bilateral ties with the US, Japan and China would affect Taiwan’s security Two-thirds of Taiwanese view closer US and Japan ties as beneficial to security, a survey by Taiwan’s top military think tank showed.
To gauge the Taiwanese public’s perceptions of how different external relationships affect security, the Institute for National Defense and Security Research commissioned a survey by National Chengchi University’s Election Study Center asking respondents whether closer relations with the US, Japan and China would strengthen or weaken Taiwan’s national security.