(May 25): Three tankers loaded with liquefied natural gas (LNG) appear to have crossed the Strait of Hormuz in recent days, as suppliers in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates attempt to get fuel out to key buyers despite the near-total closure of the waterway.
The Al Rayyan vessel was spotted north of Muscat, Oman, on Monday after passing Hormuz, and is heading to China, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. The tanker stopped broadcasting a signal around May 22, when it had been idling near Qatar’s Ras Laffan export plant in the Persian Gulf. China was the biggest buyer of Qatari LNG last year.
Another vessel that loaded a Qatari shipment in late March, also transited the strait between Sunday and Monday, ship data showed. The Fuwairit stopped sending a signal on Sunday as it was partially through Hormuz and reappeared north of Muscat. It’s now heading to Pakistan, according to the data.
The Strait of Hormuz has remained virtually shut as peace negotiations between the US and Iran drag on, with both sides enforcing a de facto blockade on a waterway that normally handles about a fifth of global LNG supply. Vessels continue to face security threats and most of the transits through the chokepoint take place with transponders turned off to avoid detection.
LNG exporters in the Persian Gulf are stepping up efforts to ship out fuel that’s been trapped in the region since the war started in late February. A tanker loaded with a cargo at Abu Dhabi National Oil Co’s Das Island export plant left Hormuz and was spotted heading to India over the weekend, Bloomberg reported on Sunday.
Still, the successful transits represent only a fraction of pre-war trade flows. So far, only seven LNG shipments have been identified making it through since the US and Israel started strikes against Iran, compared to roughly three tankers exiting the waterway on a daily basis before the conflict began.
See also: Iran peace deal push intensifies as fragile ceasefire holds
Al Rayyan is owned by Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha and Fuwairit is owned by a joint-venture including Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd. Kawasai Kisen, Mitsui OSK and QatarEnergy didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
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