Qatar sends its first liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipment through the Strait of Hormuz since the conflict between Iran and the relevant parties began in late February. Multiple ship-tracking accounts identify the tanker Al Kharaitiyat as having successfully exited the strait on Sunday, May 10. The vessel loaded LNG at Qatar’s Ras Laffan export plant earlier in the month and then follows a northern route that tracks close to Iran’s coast. Bloomberg reports the ship reaches the Gulf of Oman after exiting Hormuz and lists Pakistan as its next destination, according to tracking data. Kyiv Post similarly reports the shipment is destined for Pakistan under a government-to-government arrangement tied to Islamabad’s fuel needs, and it says the northern route is reportedly approved by Tehran as part of confidence-building steps linked to ongoing peace negotiations.
Separately, Bloomberg also reports that a second Qatari LNG tanker appears to have gone “dark” after transiting Hormuz, while another source points to additional empty Qatari LNG tankers moving north toward the Gulf after the weekend transit. Overall, sources agree that Hormuz LNG flows remain disrupted, but that Qatar’s weekend movement represents a notable change in seaborne LNG exports.
