According to industry sources and ship tracking data, the Qatari LNG tanker Al Rekayyat was parked near the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday after it?was struck by a projectile. One source reported that the tanker was struck on the port side of the ship overnight Tuesday. Another said the vessel, which was carrying liquefied gas, was in danger of exploding because it had a fire inside its engine room.

A source in the industry familiar with the situation said that efforts are being made to extinguish?the fire. The entire crew has been'safely evacuated.

According to the source, LNG is still intact in the tanks of the tanker and no leaks have occurred.

According to another industry source, as long as the vessel is not further attacked, it will likely remain in its present state and not explode.

The second source said that "Breaking a main tank" would be catastrophic.

The LSEG and MarineTraffic data showed that two vessels, a tugboat and a service ship, are near the tanker. It is located near the Strait of Hormuz, close to Oman’s coast.

QatarEnergy and Nakilat (also known as Qatar Gas Transport Company Ltd), which own the?the Al?Rekayyat? tanker, both declined to comment on our request.

Qatar's Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that Iran was fully responsible for the attack and summoned Iran's deputy ambassador to protest the targeting of the oil tanker. This is the first time that an LNG ship from Qatar, which was a mediator between the United States, and Iran in the talks, has been hit since the Iran War began on February 28. (Reporting and editing by Jonathan Saul Marwa Rashad Andrew Mills)

(source: Reuters)