LPG carrier Jag Vasant is seen at Mumbai Port in India after clearing the Strait of Hormuz, on April 1, 2026. Photo Rafiq Maqboo/AP/AlJazeera
Doha, Qatar: More ships are passing through the Strait of Hormuz, says the maritime intelligence firm Windward.
It said the number of transits through the critical waterway increased to 16 on Wednesday – the third consecutive daily rise.
Meanwhile, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have come under Iranian missile attacks, with strikes reportedly causing damage to an oil refinery in Al Ahmadi operated by the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation.
Stay tuned for more updates
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10:58AM Doha Time
Kuwait says Iranian strike hits desalination plant
Kuwait said an Iranian strike damaged parts of a power and desalination plant on Friday, adding that emergency teams are working under contingency plans to maintain operations and secure the facility, Al Jazeera reports.
9:55am Doha Time
Tracking data shows more ships passing Strait of Hormuz
More ships are passing through the Strait of Hormuz, says the maritime intelligence firm Windward.
All 16 vessels used a route via Larak Island. Windward said that’s a sign that more countries are “negotiating with Iran to get ships through” and “suggesting the pace of transits could rise in coming days.”
While the number of transits has increased, traffic in the critical waterway remains a fraction of normal levels.
Before the start of the war on February 28, about 130 vessels transited the strait daily, according to UN Trade and Development.
9:44am Doha Time
Saudi Arabia downs six drones, defence ministry says
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defence says it has intercepted and destroyed six drones.
The drones were intercepted “during the past hours,” a ministry spokesperson said on Friday morning.
The ministry did not attribute responsibility for the attacks.
9:23am Doha Time
UAE says responding to new wave of missile, drone attacks
The ministry of defence of the United Arab Emirates has said that it is currently battling a wave of new missile and drone attacks.
9:15am Doha Time
Drone attack damages Kuwait oil refinery
Kuwait’s state news agency said an oil refinery in Al Ahmadi, operated by the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, was attacked in an early morning drone strike on Friday.
The post on X said that the drone attacks led to the outbreak of fires in a “number of operational units,” but no employees were injured.
Emergency and firefighting teams have been sent to the scene. An earlier post on X warned that “hostile missile and drone attacks” on Kuwait were underway.
