Qatar LNG ships appear to abort bid to exit Strait of Hormuz

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DOHA – Two loaded liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers that had seemingly aborted an attempt to exit the Persian Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz are now headed in the direction of Qatar.

The Al Daayen switched its intended destination to the emirate’s Ras Laffan late on April 6, and is now travelling westward into the gulf, ship-tracking data show.

Rasheeda signalled it was waiting for orders while sailing in the same direction. Both tankers had said they were headed to Pakistan late on April 6. 

Traders have been monitoring the tankers, as no LNG cargo has passed through the strait since the US and Israel began strikes on Iran in late February, although an apparently empty LNG carrier passed through the choke-point over the weekend.

Before the conflict, about a fifth of the world’s LNG – mainly from Qatar, but also smaller volumes from the United Arab Emirates – came from the Persian Gulf. 

Transit through the Hormuz strait would be a shot in the arm for Qatar, even as the country’s Ras Laffan export plant has been shut for more than a month due to Iranian attacks. It would allow the emirate to send more shipments that are already loaded and waiting within the Persian Gulf, or offload fuel from storage.

The two tankers had picked up their cargoes from Ras Laffan in late February, and made an apparent attempt to leave the gulf on April 6, with Al Daayen signalling that it was headed to China.

They appeared to be approaching the strait before making a U-turn a few hours later. The ships then switched their destinations to Pakistan as they lingered in waters off Abu Dhabi.

Tracking vessel movements around the Persian Gulf can be inexact because of the potential for electronic interference with ship signals and the intentional disablement of transponders by pilots sailing through risky zones. 

Seapeak manages Al Daayen, and Nakilat owns Rasheeda, according to ship database Equasis.

Neither company immediately responded to a request for comment. QatarEnergy, which operates Ras Laffan – the world’s largest LNG export plant – did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Iran has choked off transit through the waterway since US and Israeli strikes began, while allowing passage to its own ships or those it has approved.

So far, no known Qatar-linked energy vessels have gone through the strait.

In recent days, Tehran appears to have permitted the passage of vessels associated with countries seen as close to the US, including from France and Japan. BLOOMBERG