Qatar Moves Six LNG Tankers Toward Gulf as Export Restart Looms

September 7, 2026 at 01:30 PM2 min

This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.

Six empty LNG carriers linked to Iran are en route to Qatar, signaling QatarEnergy may be preparing to restart loadings. The tankers are in the Gulf of Oman or approaching it, with one recently crossing the Strait of Hormuz toward the Qatari coast. Qatar has not resumed LNG exports since declaring force majeure after Iranian strikes on the Ras Laffan complex.

Key Facts

Six empty LNG carriers with links to Iran are located in the Gulf of Oman or approaching it, according to ship-tracking data from Kpler cited by Bloomberg.
QatarEnergy successfully sent an LNG cargo through the Strait of Hormuz at the end of July, three weeks after one of its LNG carriers was struck in the waterway.
QatarEnergy told customers in June it could restore about 50% of production capacity within a month after safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz is restored, and 80% within two months.
Qatar declared force majeure following Iranian strikes on the Ras Laffan complex in the early days of the war with the United States and Israel.

Tanker Movements

Half a dozen empty liquefied natural gas carriers are en route to Qatar, according to ship-tracking data from Kpler cited by Bloomberg. The data showed six tankers with links to Iran currently located in the Gulf of Oman or approaching it. Another tanker recently crossed the Strait of Hormuz and is heading for the Qatari coast.

Export Restart Efforts

QatarEnergy successfully sent an LNG cargo via the Strait of Hormuz at the end of July, three weeks after one of its LNG carriers was struck in the waterway. The vessel had idled in the strait since early July but crossed it with its geolocation devices turned on. This has not marked the resumption of LNG flows out of the world’s third-largest exporter. Qatar has been eager to restart its LNG exports after declaring force majeure following Iranian strikes on the Ras Laffan complex in the early days of the war with the United States and Israel.

Production Capacity Outlook

State firm QatarEnergy curtailed LNG output in early March before an LNG facility was hit by Iranian missiles in mid-March. QatarEnergy told its customers in June that it could restore about 50% of its production capacity within a month after safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz is restored. Within two months, Qatar could return 80% of its capacity, Bloomberg reported at the time. Two months later, traffic in Hormuz has not been restored, and attacks on tankers are back as Iran and the United States trade strikes. Qatar has continued loading LNG carriers but has not sent any out of the Strait of Hormuz; the vessels are either sitting in the waterway or being sent to Kuwait.