First Qatar LNG Tanker Transits Strait of Hormuz Since Late February
The Al Kharaitiyat exited the Strait of Hormuz and entered the Gulf of Oman after loading at Ras Laffan earlier this month. The voyage marks Qatar’s first LNG export out of the region since the conflict began at the end of February. Prewar levels saw roughly three shipments a day from the Persian Gulf.
onemileatatime.comA tanker carrying liquefied natural gas from Qatar has transited the Strait of Hormuz for the first time since the Iran war began at the end of February. The Al Kharaitiyat, which loaded at the Ras Laffan export plant earlier this month, exited the strait and is now in the Gulf of Oman, according to Bloomberg ship-tracking data. The vessel lists Pakistan as its next destination.
The ship navigated the Tehran-approved northern route that hugs the Iranian coast through the strait. Fortune reported that the effective closure of the waterway has choked off global LNG supplies, sending prices higher and causing shortages across Asia.
U.S. Have implemented de facto blockades. Qatar produced almost a fifth of global LNG supply last year but has not been able to move any LNG out of the Persian Gulf since the conflict began. No LNG tankers from the Ras Laffan export plant have traversed the Strait of Hormuz since then, Bloomberg reported earlier this week.
Prewar levels were roughly three LNG shipments a day out of the Persian Gulf. Qatar made several previous attempts to send LNG shipments through Hormuz, but the tankers turned around each time. The Al Kharaitiyat’s journey offers tentative signs that more LNG flows could resume, though it remains a far cry from prewar volumes.
Nakilat owns the Al Kharaitiyat, according to ship database Equasis. Nakilat and QatarEnergy did not respond to a request for comment. The Al Kharaitiyat carried liquefied natural gas from Qatar. Fortune reported the voyage as the country’s first LNG export out of the region since the Iran war began.
