Five vessels loaded with liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Ras Laffan, Qatar, are approaching the Strait of Hormuz, ship-tracking data showed on Saturday.
If the vessels successfully crossed the strait, it would be the first transit of LNG cargoes through the waterway since the U.S.-Israel war with Iran began on February 28.
On Friday, Iran reopened the strait, which before the war carried a fifth of the world’s LNG trade, following a separate U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement on Thursday by Israel and Lebanon. A convoy of oil tankers was crossing the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday.
Data from analytics firm Kpler showed the vessels, Al Ghashamiya, Lebrethah, Fuwairit, Rasheeda and Disha, have moved eastward towards the Strait of Hormuz. The first four tankers are controlled by QatarEnergy, while Disha is chartered by India’s Petronet.
QatarEnergy did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
“Currently we see five laden vessels approaching the Strait of Hormuz. All five vessels loaded from Qatar’s Ras Laffan plant. Of the five, two are destined for Pakistan, two likely destined for India and one with no clear destination,” said Laura Page, manager of LNG Insight at Kpler.
“In addition, two ballast Adnoc vessels enter the Gulf of Oman and moor outside Fujairah. The vessel movements align with flaring data which suggests multiple trains at Ras Laffan’s north site have restarted as well as UAE’s Das Island plant,” she added.
Qatar is the world’s second-largest exporter of LNG, with shipments mostly going to buyers in Asia. Iranian attacks, however, knocked out 17% of Qatar’s LNG export capacity, with repairs expected to sideline 12.8 million metric tons per year of the fuel for three to five years.
(Reporting by Marwa Rashad; Editing by Louise Heavens)