Two tankers carrying liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar appear to be attempting to exit the Persian Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz, with the move being closely monitored as a successful transit would mark the first exports to buyers outside of the region since the Middle East conflict started.
The Al Daayen and Rasheeda, which each loaded LNG from Qatar’s export plant in late February, have now slowed and pulled back slightly after earlier heading eastward toward the opening of the strait near Oman, ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg showed.
It was not immediately clear from the data if the tankers would abandon the journey.
Photo: AFP
The Al Daayen is signaling China, Qatar’s largest LNG buyer, the data showed.
The destinations are not final and vessels might change their indicated port of call at any time. So far, no loaded LNG tanker have passed through the strait since the US and Israel began strikes on Iran on Feb. 28.
The effective closure of the key waterway near Iran and the Arabian Peninsula has choked off energy supplies to global markets, disrupting about one-fifth of the world’s supply of LNG. A tanker, which appeared to not be carrying a shipment, passed through the strait at the weekend.
The potential pass through the strait might be a shot in the arm for Qatar, which supplied nearly one-fifth of all LNG last year, even as the nation’s Ras Laffan export plant has been shut for more than a month due to Iranian attacks. This could allow Qatar to send more shipments that are already loaded and waiting within the Persian Gulf, or offload fuel from storage.
Since US and Israeli strikes began, Iran has allowed passage to its own ships or those it has approved. So far, no known Qatar-linked energy vessels have gone through the strait, with more than four dozen empty Qatari LNG tankers idling across Asia.
The tankers are gathered in several locations, including west India, off Sri Lanka, the northern entrance to the Strait of Malacca and the waters east of Singapore, an analysis of tracking data from Bloomberg and Kpler showed.
None of the tankers is carrying LNG, the data showed.
The idled ships illustrate the scale of the disruption, which has sent shock waves through the LNG industry and forced some nations to cut consumption. At present, there are more than 800 LNG tankers in operation worldwide, according to the International Group of Liquefied Natural Gas Importers.
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