- QatarEnergy has stopped sending tankers via the Red Sea, although production continues.
- The Red Sea part of a route accounts for about 12 per cent of the world’s shipping traffic.
A senior source at QatarEnergy, the world’s second-largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG), has stopped sending tankers via the Red Sea, although production continues. Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi group has since November been attacking vessels in the Red Sea, part of a route that accounts for about 12 per cent of the world’s shipping traffic, in what they say is an effort to support Palestinians in the war with Israel.
At least four tankers that carried Qatari LNG were held up over the weekend after U.S. and British forces responded by carrying out dozens of air and sea strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen. According to LSEG ship tracking data, the Al Ghariya, Al Huwaila and Al Nuaman had loaded LNG at Ras Laffan in Qatar and were heading to the Suez Canal but stopped off the coast of Oman on January 14. The Al Rekayyat, sailing back to Qatar, stopped along its route on January 13 in the Red Sea.
The alternative route to Europe around the Cape of Good Hope could add around nine days to the 18-day voyage from Qatar, said ICIS LNG analyst Alex Froley. A trader calculated that could add about 1-1.30 euros per megawatt-hour (MWh) to the price of the cargo, although it would be partially offset by not paying Suez Canal fees. Qatar shipped more than 75 million metric tons (MMt) of LNG in 2023, according to LSEG data, including 14 MMt to buyers in Europe and 56.4 MMt to Asia.