LNG tanker exits Hormuz for India for first time since war began

By Stephen Stapczynski

A liquefied natural gas tanker carrying a shipment for India has exited the Strait of Hormuz, the first for the country from the Persian Gulf since the Iran war began months ago as the region’s exporters discreetly supply key buyers.

Adnoc Logistics & Services’s Al Hamra tanker was spotted in the last day, loaded with a cargo and heading to western India, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. The vessel stopped sending a signal around April 19 — but at that time it was empty and idling near the eastern entrance of Hormuz.

The tanker loaded a cargo at Abu Dhabi National Oil Co.’s Das Island export plant, which is in the Persian Gulf behind Hormuz, during the period it wasn’t sending a signal, according to Kpler. Satellite images show that LNG tankers have been docking at Das Island, even though no tankers are broadcasting their positions near the plant.

Adnoc has exported two other shipments from the Persian Gulf on tankers that went dark when traversing the waterway — one to Japan and the other to China.

Hormuz has remained virtually shut as the US and Iran struggle to reach a peace agreement, with both sides enforcing a de facto blockade on a waterway that normally handles about a fifth of global LNG supply. Vessels continue to face security threats, and most of the transits through Hormuz take place with transponders turned off to avoid detection.

Last year, India received more than half of its LNG from Qatar and the UAE, but those flows have essentially halted over the last few months, ship data shows. The decline in deliveries has forced India to procure more shipments from the expensive spot market, as well as curb supplies to some industries.

LNG tankers linked to Adnoc have stopped transmitting signals around Hormuz and within the Persian Gulf, ship data shows, as a safety measure to protect the vessels and their crew. Adnoc didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment outside of regular business hours.

While the move suggests Persian Gulf LNG exporters are finding ways to deliver fuel to customers, it still represents only a fraction of pre-war volumes, when roughly three tankers carrying the super-chilled fuel exited Hormuz on a daily basis.