Hormuz LNG traffic hits highest since Iran war began

In October, 31 tankers carrying liquefied natural gas left the Strait of Hormuz. That is the most in any month since the US-Iran war broke out in February, according to vessel tracking data from S&P Global ↗ 0.49% Energy reported by Reuters Thomson Reuters Corporation ↗ 0.10% and carried by Asharq Al-Awsat. Of those, 23 were loaded at Qatar's Ras Laffan and eight at Das Island in the United Arab Emirates. The September count was 23 vessels.english.aawsat.com

The rise shows Gulf gas exports slowly coming back, even as attacks on shipping continue. Qatar, the region's largest LNG supplier, is still well short of its pre-war output. "We are looking at UAE back to pre-war transit levels and Qatar at over 30% of pre-war Hormuz transits," Eric Yep, a senior principal analyst at S&P Global Energy, told Reuters.economictimes.indiatimes.com

Loadings rise but stay below pre-war levels

Data from the ship tracker Kpler showed 42 LNG cargoes loaded in the region in October, up from 27 in September. Ras Laffan loaded 35 of them, totaling more than 2.7 million tons and marking its busiest month since the war began, according to Asharq Al-Awsat. That still falls well short of the nearly 6.2 million tons Qatar exported in February. Das Island loaded seven cargoes, the same as in September.english.aawsat.com

OilPrice.com noted that Ras Laffan is still under force majeure. QatarEnergy said in March that Iranian attacks had knocked out 17% of its export capacity. Some cargoes are taking indirect routes. After leaving the strait, two Ras Laffan tankers transferred their LNG to other ships off Oman's Sohar anchorage. One of those cargoes is headed for South Korea, and the other went to Pakistan, Kpler data showed.timeslive.co.za+1

Qatar's loadings have kept rising into November. Departures from Ras Laffan have ranged from 13 to 15 on a 10-day moving average, up from about 11 in October but still about half the pre-war pace, Bloomberg reported.bloomberg.com

A strait still under fire

A separate tally by S&P Global Commodities at Sea counted 32 LNG carrier crossings in October, also the highest since the war began. Total traffic through the strait was 750 transits, S&P Global reported.spglobal.com

The risks remain. UK Maritime Trade Operations reported 11 attacks on commercial ships in the strait and the Arabian Gulf in the week to November 4, and three vessels sank, Middle East Eye reported. Overall traffic is still about 65% below pre-conflict levels, according to Gulf News.gulfnews.com+1

Qatar has also turned to US supply, signing long-term deals to buy up to 4 million tons a year from Cheniere Energy ↗ 3.00%. Rystad Energy has warned that gas supply will be tight and energy security uncertain this Northern Hemisphere winter, OilPrice.com reported.oilprice.com