ADNOC issues statement to clarify recent media reports
ADNOC recently issued a statement to the press to clarify recent media reports regarding its ability to maintain operations amid ongoing hostilities in the region.
The company said it “remains firmly focused on meeting customer requirements despite an exceptionally challenging environment. We continue to be significantly impacted by unprovoked attacks on our people and our assets.”
“Since the beginning of the conflict, 15 of our vessels have been attacked by missiles and drones while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, including three vessels this week alone. Tragically, these attacks have resulted in one fatality and 20 injuries to crew members.”
In close coordination with the relevant authorities, ADNOC says it is taking “all necessary measures to protect our people, assets and operations, and meet our customer requirements as much as possible. Freedom of navigation and the safe, uninterrupted passage of commercial shipping through international waterways must be respected and protected without threat, harassment or attack.”
The statement came against the backdrop of the wider regional conflict that began in late February 2026. The Strait of Hormuz, which normally carries about a fifth of global oil supplies, has seen sharply reduced traffic and repeated attacks on commercial shipping. One of the earlier incidents involving ADNOC vessels occurred on 14 July, when the tankers Al Bahyah and Mombasa B were struck, resulting in the single fatality reported by the company.
The day after ADNOC’s August 7 statement, the company confirmed that another of its vessels had been targeted by a missile while transiting the strait early on 8 August. No injuries were reported and the situation was brought under control. The UAE Foreign Ministry condemned the incident as a hostile Iranian attack and accused Tehran of acts of piracy, calling for an immediate end to such targeting of commercial vessels and the full reopening of the waterway.
ADNOC has continued working to fulfil customer commitments through a combination of its own fleet, chartered vessels, military escorts where available, and ship-to-ship transfers outside the strait.
About the Author
Bruce Beaubouef
Senior Lead Reporter / Managing Editor
Bruce Beaubouef is Managing Editor for Offshore magazine. In that capacity, he plans and oversees content for the magazine; writes features on technologies and trends for the magazine; writes news updates for the website; creates and moderates topical webinars; and creates videos that focus on offshore oil and gas and renewable energies. Beaubouef has been in the oil and gas trade media for 25 years, starting out as Editor of Hart’s Pipeline Digest in 1998. From there, he went on to serve as Associate Editor for Pipe Line and Gas Industry for Gulf Publishing for four years before rejoining Hart Publications as Editor of PipeLine and Gas Technology in 2003. He joined Offshore magazine as Managing Editor in 2010, at that time owned by PennWell Corp. Beaubouef earned his Ph.D. at the University of Houston in 1997, and his dissertation was published in book form by Texas A&M University Press in September 2007 as The Strategic Petroleum Reserve: U.S. Energy Security and Oil Politics, 1975-2005.