Four oil and gas tankers turn back from Hormuz strait after vessel attacks

DUBAI – At least four oil and gas tankers have turned back from attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz, ship-tracking data showed, as renewed attacks on vessels in the critical waterway heightened safety and security concerns.

The diversions come after a Qatari liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker and a Saudi-flagged crude oil tanker were damaged near the strait on July 7 following reports that Iran had fired missiles at ships in the waterway, prompting maritime authorities to raise the threat risk for transiting vessels to “severe”.

LNG tankers Al Ghariya, Duhail and Al Ruwais were inching westward towards the Strait of Hormuz before changing course and turning away late on July 7, showed data from analytics firms Kpler and LSEG.

All three tankers, which are controlled by QatarEnergy, were empty and heading towards Qatar’s Ras Laffan export facility to load cargoes.

Meanwhile, LSEG and Kpler data also showed that an Indian-flagged tanker carrying two million barrels of Kuwaiti crude loaded late last week made a U-turn off the tip of Oman at the Strait of Hormuz on July 8.

At least 16 LNG cargoes from Ras Laffan and 10 from ADNOC's Das Island terminal in the United Arab Emirates have exited the strait since the conflict began in late February.

But that is still only a fraction of the roughly seven million tonnes typically shipped from both export hubs each month.

A queue of ballast or empty vessels waiting to load at Ras Laffan has also built up, reaching more than 10 ships in early July, according to Vortexa analysts.

Over 50 QatarEnergy- and ADNOC-controlled ballast vessels are stationed around the Middle East Gulf, India and the Malacca Strait, with some switching off their Automatic Identification System signals for more than 10 days, Vortexa added.

Still, at least two crude oil tankers have managed to exit the strait. The VLCC Tenjun, managed by Nippon Yusen and carrying two million barrels of Qatari crude loaded in late February, exited the Strait of Hormuz late on July 7.

VLCC Pertamina Pride, managed by Indonesia’s state energy firm Pertamina, also exited the strait on July 7, with its transponder switched off, shipping data showed. The vessel is carrying two million barrels of Saudi crude loaded in early March.

Nippon Yusen declined to comment on the Tenjun tanker. Pertamina did not immediately respond to a request for comment. REUTERS