Two Empty Qatari LNG Tankers Head Toward Gulf After Weekend Hormuz Transit Breakthrough

Bloomberg ship-tracking specialist Stephen Stapczynski has identified two empty Qatari LNG tankers, Al Gattara and Fraiha, transiting north toward the Gulf area after idling near Mauritius.

This movement comes just days after a Qatari LNG carrier successfully transited the Strait of Hormuz, suggesting that Doha may be engaged in backchannel discussions with Tehran about a gradual normalization of LNG flows through the maritime chokepoint.

Al Gattara and Fraiha could be returning to Qatar to load LNG cargoes. If confirmed, this would mark a notable development after a Qatari LNG tanker sailed through the Hormuz chokepoint over the weekend, the first seaborne LNG export from Qatar since the war began in late February. However, no empty Qatari LNG tankers had yet returned through the critical waterway for loading operations.

As of Wednesday, Hormuz tanker flows remain highly disrupted, as the U.S. and Iran have yet to agree on a deal. President Trump landed in China earlier today, and the Trump-Xi summit will focus on unfreezing the world's most critical waterway.

Polymarket:

We have pointed out that a one-month countdown is underway. If Hormuz traffic does not resume, the real energy crisis will begin after June.