Four Qatar-controlled liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers entered the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, despite a sharp drop in ship traffic after Iran said it had closed the strategic waterway again over the weekend.
The LNG carriers, Al Sadd, Mekaines, Mesaimeer, and Wadi Al Sail, entered the strait via the Iranian route for the first time since the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran began on February 28, according to ship-tracking data from analytics firm Kpler.
QatarEnergy, whose LNG exports have been heavily affected since the conflict began, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Marshall Islands-flagged dry bulk vessel Summit Success also entered the Gulf on Monday, according to LSEG data.
Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains well below normal levels. Kpler data showed only five vessels passed through the strait on Sunday, compared with 26 the previous day.
Those included three Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs), each carrying about 2 million barrels of Saudi crude or fuel oil. One of the tankers was heading to Japan.
Shipbroker Clarksons said daily vessel crossings are still below the roughly 125 transits seen before the conflict began, although traffic is gradually picking up.
Shipping sources said the actual number of ships using the strait could be higher because some vessels may have switched off their Automatic Identification System (AIS) transponders or experienced AIS tracking outages.
The U.S. Navy-led Joint Maritime Information Center said commercial traffic has started increasing, with ships using both Omani territorial waters and the northern Iranian-controlled route through the strait.
Iran had lifted its effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz last week after agreeing with the United States to extend an April ceasefire by 60 days to allow peace talks to continue.
However, Tehran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced on Saturday that it had closed the waterway again in response to Israeli strikes in Lebanon.
Despite that announcement, oil exports have continued to move through the strait.
The U.S. Central Command said 55 merchant ships carrying more than 17 million barrels of oil passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday.
Among the vessels leaving the Gulf that day were three VLCCs carrying crude from the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq, along with three tankers carrying refined oil products.
Another 13 ships entered the strait on Saturday, including two VLCCs.
Hamid Bovard, head of the National Iranian Oil Company, told state television on Sunday that more than 25 million barrels of Iranian oil had crossed what he described as the virtual blockade line since last Monday.
LSEG and Kpler data also showed that three sanctioned VLCCs, Elva, Virgo and Vigor, loaded with Iranian crude from Kharg Island between late April and early May were leaving the Strait of Hormuz on Monday.
To give buyers more flexibility, Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) and Kuwait Petroleum Corp have issued tenders allowing crude to be loaded either inside or outside the Strait of Hormuz.
South Korea’s Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said two South Korean-operated vessels also passed through the strait last week after the interim peace agreement, although it did not identify the ships.
A spokesperson for the Japan Shipowners’ Association said the number of Japanese-linked vessels still operating in the Gulf has fallen to 37 from 45 when the conflict began.
Separately, two ADNOC-controlled LNG tankers were delivering cargoes to India after recently leaving the Strait of Hormuz, according to Kpler and LSEG data.
The Al Hamra tanker was unloading LNG at the Ennore LNG terminal, while Mubaraz was scheduled to discharge its cargo at the Kochi terminal on Tuesday.
Both vessels were last seen east of the strait in ballast between late May and early June before reappearing over the weekend off India’s coast carrying LNG cargoes.
ADNOC said it does not comment on the position, movements or routing of its vessels or on third-party ship-tracking reports.
According to Kpler and LSEG data, Al Hamra and Mubaraz have each completed two “dark” voyages from the Strait of Hormuz since the conflict began, sailing without continuous public AIS tracking.
References: The Hindu, Reuters
