Qatar’s LNG tankers idle across Asia as export plant stays shut

[SINGAPORE] More than four-dozen empty Qatari liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers are idling across Asia, as the nation’s export plant remains shut and the Strait of Hormuz largely closed because of the war in the Middle East.

The tankers are gathered in several locations, including West India, off the coast of Sri Lanka, the northern entrance to the Strait of Malacca, and the waters east of Singapore, according to an analysis of tracking data from Bloomberg and Kpler. None of the tankers is carrying LNG, the data shows.

Qatar was forced to shut production at the world’s largest LNG export plant following an Iranian drone attack in early March, upending the global market and leaving its vast fleet of tankers without orders. Parts of the facility at Ras Laffan were damaged following another attack later in March.

The idled ships illustrate the scale of the disruption, which has sent shockwaves through the LNG industry and forced some nations to cut consumption. LNG traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway that links the Persian Gulf with global markets, has been brought to a near-standstill by Teheran since the US and Israel began strikes on Iran in late February.

At present, there are more than 800 LNG tankers in operation worldwide, according to the International Group of Liquefied Natural Gas Importers. BLOOMBERG