In a major development, a liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker has crossed the Strait of Hormuz, ship-tracking data showed on Monday. The ship appeared to be near Indian waters. If the passage is confirmed, it could be the first loaded LNG tanker to cross the volatile strait since the Iran war started on February 28.
The tanker, having a volume of 1,36,357 cubic meters, is managed by the United Arab Emirates' (UAE) ADNOC Logistics & Services. It was last seen in the Gulf on March 30. On Monday, it showed up off the west coast of India.
Data from ICIS LNG Edge, Marine Traffic and LSEG suggest that the tanker safely transited the Strait after several weeks without signal.
ADNOC has declined to comment on the matter. The Strait has been closed since a brief opening after the first round of peace talks between Iran and the United States failed in Islamabad.
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How are ships slipping through
The ships, since then, have been using evasive tactics like stopping transmitting their locations or transmitting false identification numbers to avoid being targeted or detained, ship-tracking data showed.
According to a report by news agency Reuters, Alex Froley, senior LNG analyst at ICIS, a data intelligence firm, said, "We have not yet heard official confirmation of the position. There are occasional cases of bad signal data, or of ships spoofing positions or even using another ship's identity (MMSI) number, but the indicated position does not show immediately obvious signs of this".
However, such tactics remain risky and do not ensure a guaranteed and intact flow of oil and gas. Therefore, most of the vessels passing the Strait are bearing Iranian flags.
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"If the tanker has crossed, it would be a hopeful sign for the gas market, but only a very early one. One tanker crossing would not necessarily guarantee that more could follow, as the situation has been changing rapidly," Froley added.
The report suggests that in April, a few Qatari tankers tried twice to cross the strait but failed. An empty Omani LNG tanker managed to cross the strait earlier this month.