Second Hormuz LNG tanker strike widens force majeure, testing Milan's energy bill

A second tanker carrying Qatari liquefied natural gas was struck while leaving the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, according to Euronews, weeks after the Al Rekayyat was hit in the same area. The GasLog Shanghai was the latest vessel targeted, escalating a threat to one of Europe's key energy supply routes.

Italian utility Edison said QatarEnergy had extended force majeure on a further three cargoes, bringing the total affected to 24 shipments through September, Euronews reported. The widening disruption comes as Italy, and particularly the industrial north around Milan, depends heavily on imported gas to power its manufacturing and finance sectors.

For Lombardy, the region that drives Italy's export economy, every stranded LNG cargo translates into higher input costs for energy-intensive industries, from steel to chemicals. The Milan market, which tracks the national energy bill closely, faces renewed pressure on corporate margins as the summer heatwave simultaneously drives up electricity demand for cooling.

The Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of global LNG trade passes, has become a flashpoint in recent weeks. The first strike on the Al Rekayyat occurred in the same waters, and the second attack on the GasLog Shanghai suggests a pattern rather than an isolated incident, according to Euronews.

Edison, one of Italy's largest energy companies, is a major buyer of Qatari LNG under long-term contracts. The force majeure extension means the utility can claim relief from delivery obligations, but the physical shortfall must still be replaced, likely at higher spot prices on the international market.

For Milan's financial district, the development reinforces a familiar vulnerability: Italy's limited domestic energy production and its reliance on seaborne imports. The Borsa Italiana's energy and utility stocks have historically reacted sharply to supply shocks in the Gulf, and analysts quoted in international financial coverage have warned that prolonged disruption could feed through to consumer bills by autumn.

The timing is particularly awkward for Lombardy, where the industrial sector is already contending with a sluggish European economy and high borrowing costs. Energy-intensive manufacturers in the region, including producers of ceramics, glass and processed metals, face a double squeeze from higher gas prices and cooling demand during the current heatwave, which has placed Milan on red alert along with 18 other Italian cities, the BBC reported.

The European Union has not yet announced a coordinated response to the Hormuz strikes, and the bloc's energy ministers have been focused on other migration and border disputes. That leaves individual utilities like Edison to manage the fallout, and their ability to secure alternative supplies from Algeria, Azerbaijan or the spot market will determine how much of the shock reaches Lombardy's factories and households.