ADNOC Says One of Its Vessels Was Damaged in an Attack in UAE Waters

Economic Warfare & Trade Policy › Energy & commodities

ADNOC Logistics and Services, the maritime arm of Abu Dhabi’s state oil company, said Tuesday that one of its vessels sustained damage after an attack in the United Arab Emirates’ territorial waters in the Arabian Gulf. The company did not name the ship, describe the damage, identify who carried out the attack, or say whether anyone was hurt. “Response efforts by the relevant teams are ongoing, and further updates will be provided as additional information becomes available,” it said, according to Gulf News.

The statement was also reported by Khaleej Times, which cited the official UAE news agency WAM, !Unverified claim, WAM (UAE state news agency) and by The Peninsula in Qatar, which cited QNA. !Unverified claim, QNA (Qatar state news agency) ADNOC Logistics and Services urged the public to rely only on official sources and not to circulate rumors or unverified reports, Gulf News said. As of the company’s statement, the basic facts of the incident beyond the confirmation of damage in UAE waters on Tuesday afternoon remained undisclosed.

What the company confirmed, and what it did not

The business news of the day is therefore limited, and it should be read that way. ADNOC Logistics and Services is listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and provides shipping, logistics and marine services to the energy industry, serving more than 100 customers in more than 50 countries, Gulf News reported. Its statement placed the attack on Tuesday afternoon, Nov. 10, inside UAE territorial waters in the Arabian Gulf. It did not say whether the vessel was a tanker, a support ship, or another type of craft. It did not say whether the attack involved a missile, a drone, a mine, or another weapon. It did not report a casualty figure, and the absence of that figure should not be read as a confirmation that there were none.

Those gaps matter because incomplete first reports of shipping attacks in the Gulf are often filled in later, and sometimes revised. Until the company or UAE authorities add detail, there is no public, official account of the weapon used, the identity of the attacker, the name of the ship, or the condition of the crew. This report does not attribute the Tuesday incident to any government or armed group.

A longer record of attacks on ADNOC vessels

The Tuesday statement follows a series of attacks on ADNOC vessels earlier this year, during the Iran war and related fighting around Gulf shipping lanes. In an Aug. 7 statement, ADNOC said 15 of its vessels had been attacked by missiles and drones while transiting the Strait of Hormuz since the conflict began, resulting in one fatality and 20 crew injuries, Gulf News reported. The company later confirmed a missile attack on another vessel on Aug. 8, attacks on two vessels on Aug. 13, and a further attack on Aug. 14. ADNOC said no injuries were reported in those three later incidents.

Those earlier figures were published by the company at the time and describe a pattern of risk to UAE energy shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. They do not, on their own, identify who attacked an ADNOC Logistics and Services vessel in UAE territorial waters on Tuesday, or whether the method was the same. The company’s November statement did not tie the new incident to any of the August attacks, and it asked the public not to repeat unverified claims.

Other recent incidents in nearby waters

Khaleej Times noted that the ADNOC announcement came days after Qatar Gas Transport Company, known as Nakilat, reported that its vessel Al Maayeda was attacked by unidentified objects while sailing in the Arabian Gulf on Oct. 30. In a statement published on the Qatar Stock Exchange on Nov. 1, Nakilat said no crew members were injured and that the incident had no environmental impact, Khaleej Times reported, and that the vessel remained safe and operational while an assessment continued. Those details refer to the October Nakilat incident, not to Tuesday’s ADNOC case, and should not be applied to the unidentified ADNOC ship.

Khaleej Times also reported that the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs later condemned the October attack, calling it a “grave threat” to the safety of maritime navigation and global energy supplies and a “dangerous escalation” aimed at undermining the security and stability of critical waterways. That ministry language, as presented in the report, followed the Nakilat incident. This article does not treat it as an official UAE comment on the Nov. 10 ADNOC statement unless and until the ministry speaks to the new case.

Why an attack in UAE waters is closely watched

The Arabian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz are among the world’s busiest routes for oil and liquefied natural gas. An attack inside the territorial waters of the UAE, a major producer and a logistics hub, is therefore watched closely by shippers, insurers, and governments even when the first official account is short. ADNOC’s own August tally — 15 vessels hit in the Strait of Hormuz, one death, and 20 injuries, followed by additional attacks in mid-August — is a reminder of how quickly those waters have become hazardous this year.

What cannot yet be said is how serious Tuesday’s damage is, whether the ship can proceed, or whether the incident will affect loadings or insurance costs in the days ahead. The company has promised further updates. Until those arrive, the confirmed record is narrow: an ADNOC Logistics and Services vessel was damaged in an attack in UAE territorial waters in the Arabian Gulf on Tuesday afternoon, response work is under way, and the firm has not released the ship’s name, the extent of the damage, a casualty report, or an attribution.

Sources

• Gulf News: ADNOC ship damaged after attack within UAE territorial waters
• Khaleej Times: Adnoc says vessel damaged after attack in UAE waters on November 10
• The Peninsula: UAE’s ADNOC Logistics & Services says vessel sustained damage following attack