Staff Reporter:
Qatar appears to have loaded its first liquefied natural gas cargo after the widening conflict in the Middle East forced it to halt fuel production and declare an unprecedented force majeure to buyers.
The tanker departed from the LNG export complex on Friday, and its draft level increased suggesting a cargo on board, Bloomberg reported.
The vessel is signaling Bangladesh as its next destination, with an estimated arrival on 14 March. Yet the trip still depends on navigation in the crucial Strait of Hormuz, which is effectively closed for commercial ships given continued hostilities in the region.
The tanker may serve as a storage until the route is open.
Earlier this week, Qatar shut the world’s biggest LNG export plant, Ras Laffan, following an Iranian drone assault. Even before that, Hormuz was all but ground to a halt, with the route normally accounting for about a fifth of the world’s LNG supplies.
A spokesperson for QatarEnergy did not immediately respond for comment on the loading or destination.
LNG can be loaded from an export facility after production is shut down as some fuel is stored in tanks. Shipping data shows some cargoes were loaded since the weekend, but those vessels — still stuck near the complex — departed on 2 March, before the official announcement of the force majeure.
