The Fujairah Energy tanker, a Liberia-flagged VLCC with six Indian seafarers on board, was hit by a projectile on Tuesday, 10 November while sailing from Al Ruwais to Dubai, India’s shipping minister said on Wednesday.
Sarbananda Sonowal, India’s Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, said in a post on X at 05:00 UAE time on 11 November that four crew members on the Fujairah Energy tanker were injured in the attack. One of them is an Indian national who suffered minor injuries and has been taken ashore for further medical examination. The other 18 crew, including the remaining five Indian seafarers, are safe and accounted for.
What India’s minister said about the Fujairah Energy tanker
Sonowal said the ship was transiting the “Persian Gulf”, the name used in India for the waters known in the UAE as the Arabian Gulf. He said his ministry was following the case closely.
“We are continuously monitoring the situation and remain in close contact with the ship management company to ensure the ongoing security, medical care and wellbeing of our seafarers,” he wrote.
His post did not name the management company or give an exact position. It did not say who fired the projectile, what the ship was carrying or whether there was any pollution. It also did not say where the injured Indian seafarer was brought ashore, or give the condition and nationalities of the other three injured crew members.
A separate ADNOC statement on the same day
On the afternoon of 10 November, ADNOC Logistics and Services said one of its vessels had sustained damage following an attack in the UAE’s territorial waters in the Arabian Gulf. The company statement, also carried by WAM, said response teams were at work and asked the public to rely only on official sources. It did not name the vessel, describe the damage or mention the crew. DubaiPress reported the ADNOC statement on Tuesday.
ADNOC has not said whether its damaged vessel is the Fujairah Energy tanker, and the Indian minister did not mention ADNOC. Until one of them confirms a link, these remain two separate official statements.
What UKMTO reported in the same period
UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), which issues security alerts to merchant ships in the region, published two warnings over the same 24 hours. Warning 201-26 said the master of a tanker reported being struck by an unknown projectile 19 nautical miles northeast of Lima, Oman, at 17:38 UAE time on 10 November. The crew were safe and no environmental impact was reported.
Warning 202-26, posted at 07:11 UAE time on 11 November, described suspicious activity involving a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, with the date and time still to be confirmed. The status of the crew and any damage were unknown at the time.
Neither warning names a ship. Neither matches the Indian account either: the first is off the Omani coast and reports no injuries, and the second is in the Strait of Hormuz, while Sonowal places the Fujairah Energy tanker on the Al Ruwais to Dubai run with four crew hurt.
Four official reports, side by side
| Source | Published (UAE time) | Location given | Ship named | Crew | Damage or impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| India’s shipping minister | 05:00, 11 Nov | In transit from Al Ruwais to Dubai; no exact position | MT Fujairah Energy | Four injured, one Indian with minor injuries; 18 safe | Hit by a projectile; no further detail |
| ADNOC Logistics and Services | Afternoon, 10 Nov | UAE territorial waters, Arabian Gulf | Not named | Not mentioned | Vessel damaged; extent not given |
| UKMTO 201-26 | 19:54, 10 Nov (incident 17:38) | 19 nautical miles northeast of Lima, Oman | Not named | Safe | Struck by unknown projectile; no environmental impact reported |
| UKMTO 202-26 | 07:11, 11 Nov (incident time to be confirmed) | Strait of Hormuz | Not named | Unknown | Suspicious activity; damage unknown |
Where Al Ruwais and Dubai sit on the map
Al Ruwais is on the Abu Dhabi coast in the Al Dhafra region, west of Abu Dhabi city. A voyage from there to Dubai runs along the UAE coast inside the Arabian Gulf and does not pass through the Strait of Hormuz. The map at the top of this article shows that route and the two UKMTO notice areas. The exact position where the Fujairah Energy tanker was hit has not been published by any official source.
For Indian residents and families in the UAE
What happens next
No official source has yet said who carried out the attack, whether the Fujairah Energy tanker was carrying cargo, or how badly it was damaged. DubaiPress will update this story when India’s ministry, ADNOC Logistics and Services, WAM or UKMTO publish more. For the wider regional picture, see our guide to UAE-Iran relations in 2026 and our report on the UAE’s de-escalation talks with Iran.
For background on the waterway that has been at the centre of this year’s shipping risk, see our explainer on why the Strait of Hormuz matters for global trade.
Read more World news on DubaiPress.