Four oil and gas tankers have turned back from the Strait of Hormuz following attacks on vessels.

At least four oil and gas tankers have reversed course from attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, according to ship-tracking data, due to increased attacks on vessels in this vital passage, raising safety and security alarms.

These changes in route followed damage to a Qatari LNG tanker and a Saudi-flagged crude oil tanker near the strait on Tuesday, stemming from reports that Iran launched missiles at ships in the area. This led maritime authorities to classify the threat level for vessels transiting the strait as "severe."

Three LNG tankers—Al Ghariya, Duhail, and Al Ruwais—were moving westward towards the Strait of Hormuz before altering their paths to turn back late on Tuesday. Data from analytics firms Kpler and LSEG revealed that all three empty tankers operated by QatarEnergy were en route to Qatar's Ras Laffan export facility to load cargo.

Additionally, LSEG and Kpler data indicated that an Indian-flagged tanker, carrying 2 million barrels of Kuwaiti crude, made a U-turn off the coast of Oman in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday after loading late last week. Since the start of the conflict in late February, at least 16 LNG cargoes from Ras Laffan and 10 from ADNOC's Das Island terminal in the UAE have exited the strait, which, however, accounts for only a small portion of the approximately 7 million metric tons typically shipped monthly from these export points.

A backlog of empty vessels waiting to load at Ras Laffan has also formed, exceeding 10 ships in early July, according to Vortexa analysts. Over 50 ballast vessels controlled by QatarEnergy and ADNOC are currently stationed in the Middle East Gulf, India, and the Malacca strait, with some having turned off their Automatic Identification System signals for more than 10 days, according to Vortexa.

However, at least two crude oil tankers successfully left the strait. The VLCC Tenjun, operated by Nippon Yusen KK and carrying 2 million barrels of Qatari crude loaded in late February, exited the Strait of Hormuz late on Tuesday. The VLCC Pertamina Pride, managed by Indonesia's Pertamina, also left the strait on Tuesday, with its transponder turned off, carrying 2 million barrels of Saudi crude loaded in early March. Nippon Yusen declined to comment on the Tenjun tanker, and Pertamina has not yet responded to inquiries.