Four tankers reverse course near Strait of Hormuz after ship attacks

DUBAI: Ship-tracking data showed that four oil and gas tankers heading towards the Strait of Hormuz turned back after fresh attacks on vessels near the strategic waterway raised security concerns for shipping.

The route changes followed damage to a Qatari liquefied natural gas carrier and a Saudi-flagged crude tanker near the strait on Tuesday, after reports that Iran fired missiles at ships there. Maritime authorities subsequently raised the threat level for vessels using the passage to severe.

LNG vessels changed direction before loading

According to data from Kpler and LSEG, three LNG tankers controlled by QatarEnergy — Al Ghariya, Duhail and Al Ruwais — had been moving westward towards the Strait of Hormuz before turning away late on Tuesday. All three were in ballast, or empty, and were sailing to Ras Laffan in Qatar to load cargoes.

Vortexa analysts said a line of empty vessels waiting to load at Ras Laffan had also grown, reaching more than 10 ships in early July. The same analysts said over 50 ballast vessels controlled by QatarEnergy and ADNOC were positioned around the Middle East Gulf, India and the Malacca Strait, with some having switched off their Automatic Identification System signals for more than 10 days.

Crude tanker also made a U-turn

LSEG and Kpler data also showed that an Indian-flagged tanker carrying 2 million barrels of Kuwaiti crude reversed direction off Oman's tip at the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday. The cargo had been loaded late last week.

Since the conflict began in late February, at least 16 LNG cargoes from Ras Laffan and 10 from ADNOC's Das Island terminal in the United Arab Emirates have passed out through the strait. Even so, that volume remains well below the roughly 7 million metric tons usually shipped each month from the two export hubs combined.

Some laden tankers still exited the strait

Not all vessel movements were halted. Shipping data showed that the VLCC Tenjun, managed by Nippon Yusen KK, left the Strait of Hormuz late on Tuesday carrying 2 million barrels of Qatari crude that had been loaded in late February.

Another very large crude carrier, Pertamina Pride, also moved out of the strait on Tuesday, according to shipping data. The tanker, managed by Indonesia's state energy firm Pertamina, was carrying 2 million barrels of Saudi crude loaded in early March, and its transponder was switched off during the voyage. Nippon Yusen declined to comment on Tenjun, while Pertamina did not immediately respond to a request for comment.