FILE PHOTO: Model of an LNG tanker is seen in front of Qatar's flag in this illustration | Photo Credit: Dado Ruvic

Qatar is rushing to bring home more empty liquefied natural gas tankers as the nation prepares to restart shipments accounting for about a fifth of global supply.

Four tankers — either owned by Qatar’s shipping arm or under long-term charter with the country — are travelling through the Strait of Hormuz, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. If successful, this would be the largest volume of empty LNG ships to go through the waterway on a single day since the war began over three months ago.

Another five vessels linked to the emirate are near eastern Oman, while several more are on the way, ship data shows.

Qatar, the second-biggest LNG exporter before the war, halted output early in the conflict between the US and Iran after attacks on its vast liquefaction facilities and the closure of the strait, which blocked its route to international markets. Doha seeks to resume most production within two months of Hormuz safely opening.

At least three other empty Qatar-linked tankers have traversed the waterway in the past week, ship data shows. Until these ships, Qatar hadn’t brought any empty LNG carriers into the Persian Gulf due to security concerns.

Qatar has managed to export some cargoes, loading just over 300,000 tonnes of LNG in the week to June 19, the most since early March, ship data shows. That is still only about a fifth of levels before the US and Israel attacked Iran at the end of February.

The bringing home of the tankers comes after the US and Iran signed an interim peace agreement to open the Strait of Hormuz, raising hopes that there would be an increase in traffic through the waterway. Still, tensions between the sides remain high, with US President Donald Trump threatening strikes on Iran if Hezbollah keeps attacking Israel, while Iran claimed to have closed the waterway again — although millions of barrels of oil transited over the weekend.

The restart of Ras Laffan — the world’s biggest LNG export plant — is being closely monitored, as a fast resumption would ease global prices. The US-Iran tensions saw Dutch natural gas prices — an international benchmark — rise early on Monday. 

Meanwhile, Ras Laffan operator QatarEnergy said an incident during startup at the complex resulted in an explosion and fire at the Barzan gas supply facility on Sunday. That plant supplies domestic industries and power generation, and it is unclear if LNG output will be affected.

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Published on June 22, 2026