Qatar-linked LNG traffic through Hormuz strait picks up despite conflict

SINGAPORE: More QatarEnergy-linked liquefied natural gas vessels, laden and in ballast, have transited the Strait of Hormuz in the last week despite the US-Iran conflict.

In August, Kpler data showed no visible transits by Qatar-linked LNG vessels or vessels carrying cargoes from the Ras Laffan gas terminal, amid fears of attack by Iran, which has tried to throttle traffic through the Strait.

Some may have got through undetected if they kept their transponders off, but this month, visible transits of LNG tankers have begun to pick up.


The latest LNG vessel to reappear outside the strait is the GasLog Skagen, which showed up off Sri Lanka on September 27 with a cargo from Ras Laffan, LSEG and Kpler data showed.

The vessel, managed by Greece's GasLog LNG Services, had been inside the Gulf from the start of the war, ferrying cargoes from Qatar to the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, until it was last seen there on September 20.

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Another LNG vessel carrying a Qatar-origin cargo, Al Shamal, was last seen inside the strait on September 19 and reappeared outside Hormuz around September 24-25. Managed by Seapeak Maritime, it is currently skirting southern India.

The two Qatari-linked vessels Mesaimeer and Al Ghashamiya also left the Gulf with cargoes from Ras Laffan. The Mesaimeer reappeared off Oman on September 23, while Al Ghashamiya delivered its cargo to Dahej, India, on September 24.

The Qatari-linked Al Samriya appeared outside the waterway on September 17, the same day that Seapeak Maritime-managed Al Daayen emerged with a cargo en route for Caofeidian, China.

Shandong Redwood, managed by Shandong Marine Energy, transited through the strait on September 19 and delivered a cargo to Pakistan on September 23.

At least one LNG vessel entered the strait last week. Qatari-linked Al Mafyar, last seen outside Hormuz on September 19, reappeared in ballast inside the strait on September 22.

QatarEnergy, GasLog LNG Services, Shandong Marine Energy and Seapeak Maritime, an independent owner and operator of gas carriers, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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The Strait of Hormuz carried a fifth of global supplies of crude oil and LNG before it was blockaded in the war, which began in February with US-Israeli strikes on Iran.

Many vessels passing through the strait make "dark transits" by turning off their Automatic Identification System (AIS) transponders to avoid detection.