The attacked ship belongs to Nakilat, a state-owned shipping company from Qatar, and it appears that it was on its way out of the Persian Gulf fully loaded when it was hit, without signalling its position.
After the attack, another loaded gas ship, the Al Areesh, appears to have aborted a planned passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
Shipping traffic through the strait - which normally accounts for around 20 percent of the world's oil and gas shipments - has been blocked for long periods since the US and Israel began the bombing war against Iran on February 28. However, traffic has resumed after a ceasefire agreement and peace talks were initiated between the US and Iran in June.
