First empty Qatari LNG ship enters Persian Gulf since war began

In a major sign that global energy markets are beginning to stabilize, an empty Qatari liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker has entered the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz for the first time since the outbreak of war in Iran.

The Al Hamla, a vessel owned by Qatar’s state shipping company, docked at the Ras Laffan export terminal on Thursday, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. The tanker had previously gone dark, halting its location signals near western India about a week ago to navigate the volatile region safely, News.Az reports, citing G Captain.

The ship's arrival follows a landmark interim peace agreement between the U.S. and Iran, which specifically calls for the swift reopening of the critical maritime chokepoint. The monthslong conflict and subsequent closure of the Strait of Hormuz effectively choked off nearly 20% of the world's LNG supply. Up until now, Qatari exporters had to rely on a trickle of high-risk shipments, using vessels that either turned off their transponders to mask their locations or secured rare, explicit clearance from Tehran.

With the waterway reopening, Qatar is moving aggressively to restore the bulk of its export capacity within the next two months. Reaching that goal depends heavily on positioning enough empty vessels to load and transport the fuel.

The Al Hamla marks the very first empty Qatari LNG vessel to openly cross back into the Persian Gulf since the conflict erupted in late February. Ship-tracking data suggests it won't be the last, as several other empty tankers linked to Qatar have already altered course and are heading back to the Middle East to resume normal operations.

News.Az 

By Aysel Mammadzada