QATAR PERSPECTIVE

Doha delivers the pool's most comprehensive account—that of a country whose prosperity depends directly on the Strait of Hormuz. The Gulf Times reveals that it is not only Iranians seizing vessels: Americans have intercepted at least three Iranian tankers in Asian waters—the supertanker Dorena (2 million barrels of crude), escorted by an American destroyer in the Indian Ocean, the Deep Sea near Malaysia, and the Sevin also near Malaysia. In total, CENTCOM claims to have redirected 29 vessels since the blockade began. But data from the firm Vortexa, cited by the Times of India, shows that 34 Iran-linked tankers have successfully circumvented restrictions, carrying at least 10.7 million barrels. Traffic in the strait has fallen from 130 vessels per day to 'a handful.' The Gulf Times notes that Brent closed above $100 per barrel for the first time in two weeks. The Epaminondas crew—21 Ukrainian and Philippine sailors—is declared safe. Four Montenegrin sailors are aboard the MSC Francesca. Qatar, whose LNG terminals at Ras Laffan depend on passage through Hormuz, cannot afford to see the strait indefinitely closed. The exhaustive factuality of the Gulf Times is a form of silent alarm.