UKMTO’s November 5 warning reports a tanker hit by two projectiles north of Qatar. Separately, French ports face a second day of industrial disruption as tug crews prepare to stop work.
1. UKMTO reports tanker attack north of Qatar
- Warning 196-26 places the incident approximately 50 nautical miles north of Madinat ash Shamal, Qatar.
- The warning was published on November 5; this is newly reported information, not a confirmed November 6 attack.
- The tanker was struck by two unidentified projectiles. Crew condition, damage and environmental consequences remained unconfirmed in the warning.
- The reviewed notice does not identify the vessel, IMO number or flag. UKMTO advises caution and reporting of suspicious activity while authorities investigate.
2. French tug strike extends disruption into November 7
- Le Havre’s harbourmaster confirms a nationwide French port-towage strike notice for November 6.
- Its published disruption window runs from 08:00 November 6 to 08:00 November 7, local time. The notice anticipates substantially slower port marine operations.
- This follows disruption to Le Havre’s container terminals and movable port infrastructure from 06:00 November 5 to 06:00 November 6.
- Splash reports the November 5 dockworkers’ action also threatened cargo operations at Marseille-Fos, Dunkirk, Rouen and Bordeaux. The separate tug stoppage extends the risk to vessel movements after that first window ends.
3. Maersk reports 46% quarterly freight-rate increase
- Reuters reported on November 5 that Maersk’s freight rates rose 46% from the previous quarter, while Ocean volumes were broadly unchanged year on year.
- Full-year underlying EBITDA guidance increased to USD 14–14.5 billion, from USD 10.5–12.5 billion.
- Third-quarter EBITDA reached USD 4.7 billion, up 75%.
- The earnings improvement came primarily from higher pricing rather than cargo growth. Port congestion continued to support rates as the carrier gradually resumed Suez routing.
4. New IMCA warning details destructive tanker cyber incident
- IMCA Safety Flash 19/26, published November 5, describes an attack on an unnamed oil tanker sailing from Egypt to Galveston. The incident date is not disclosed.
- Operating systems and stored data were erased from several connected workstations. External email and vessel-management applications were disrupted.
- IMCA reports subsequent US Coast Guard and FBI attendance, causing additional delay. Inspections found no abnormalities in key operational-technology systems; assessed damage was confined to the business IT network.
- The initial intrusion route remains unconfirmed. The report identifies weaknesses in network separation, logging and firewall maintenance. Recovery involved isolating affected equipment, restoring backups and reinstalling compromised computers.
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Sources
UKMTO, Reuters, HAROPA PORT / Le Havre Harbourmaster, Splash247, IMCA.
This update is part of the DeepDraft SITREP series covering developing maritime operational situations.
Qatar, Tanker Attack, UKMTO, Maritime Security, French Ports, Maersk, Maritime Cybersecurity
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