In a significant display of confidence in at least a short-term period when travel through the Strait of Hormuz can be deemed safe, Qatar has brought an empty LNG tanker back into the Persian Gulf for the first time since the war in Iran began at the end of February.
The Al Hamla (IMO 9337743) which is owned by Qatar’s state-owned shipping company, appeared at the Ras Laffan export plant on Thursday June 18th, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. The vessel stopped sending a signal about a week ago, when it was off western India.
Qatar is aiming to restore most of its export capacity within two months of Hormuz reopening (see yesterday’s IMN). Several empty vessels linked to Qatar started heading back to the Middle East earlier this week.
2008-built, Oman-flagged, 136,410 gt Al Hamla is owned by Overseas LNG2 Corp care of Qatar Gas Transport Co of Doha, Qatar. It is entered with Gard AS on behalf of Overseas LNG S2 LLC. As of June 18th the 312.17m x 50.05m vessel was listed as Stopped in the Persian Gulf.