QatarEnergy offers crude outside Hormuz as Iran blacklist rattles shippers

QatarEnergy has issued a second tender this week to sell al-Shaheen and Qatar Marine crude via ship-to-ship transfers outside the Strait of Hormuz, according to three trade sources and a tender document reviewed by Reuters. The crude will be discharged for the first half of October, with a bid submission deadline of 12:00 p.m. Doha time on Wednesday.economictimes.indiatimes+1

The move comes as energy companies scramble to adapt to Iran's escalating threats over the critical waterway, through which a substantial share of global oil supplies transit.

A Shift in Strategy

In its previous tender, valid until August 25, QatarEnergy offered al-Shaheen, Qatar Marine, and Qatar Land crude for loading in September and October on a free-on-board basis at loading ports inside Qatar — requiring transit through the Strait of Hormuz. The shift to offering crude via transfers outside the strait marks an effort to give buyers alternatives amid heightened risks.bairdmaritime

Iraq's state oil marketer SOMO similarly offered rare tenders last week requiring Hormuz loading, after Iran granted permission for a number of Iraqi tankers to pass through the strait following repeated requests from Baghdad, according to Iran's state news agency IRNA.bairdmaritime

Iran's Blacklist Reshapes Shipping Decisions

Tehran announced on Sunday a blacklist of 45 ships it said had violated its rules for crossing the Strait of Hormuz, warning that vessels conducting cargo transfers with blacklisted ships could also face action. Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority said the named vessels could face fines, detention, and cargo confiscation.timesofisrael+1

In response, at least three Indian oil refiners and a major global energy company are planning to stop using blacklisted vessels, including for ship-to-ship transfers, according to Reuters. "We will avoid our chartered vessels dealing or STS or anything to do with non-compliant ships for Middle Eastern cargoes," said one source working at an Indian refinery.marinelink+1

Industry Reassesses Exposure

Several charterers and shipping firms are now internally debating whether to continue STS operations near the strait. One Gulf crude buyer said it would be safer to purchase oil on a delivered basis rather than free-on-board at STS locations in the Gulf of Oman. Formosa Petrochemical president KY Lin said the company's "internal departments are still in discussion on how to proceed with crude deliveries from the Strait of Hormuz via ship-to-ship transfers in the long term".portnews+1

Ana Subasic, a trade risk analyst at ship-tracking firm Kpler, said compliance-sensitive buyers are expected to avoid these vessels, but that trade is "more likely to reroute through alternative tonnage, counterparties or transfer locations than disappear altogether".marinelink

Two of the 12 very large crude carriers on Iran's blacklist stopped transmitting their positions through automatic identification systems by Tuesday, while the remaining ten had their transponders switched off for weeks.portnews+1