Two liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers have abandoned their recent efforts to transit the Strait of Hormuz amid the war in the Gulf that is well past its first month.
The Bahamian-flagged Al Daayen (IMO: 9325702) and the Marshall Islands-flagged Rasheeda (IMO: 9443413) had both loaded LNG from Qatar's Ras Laffan export plant in late February, after which the war began, leaving many such vessels stranded.
However, after the two vessels had recently attempted to exit the Strait of Hormuz by trying to travel towards the coast of Oman, they turned around, as Qatar's exports to buyers outside the Middle East remains halted, a Bloomberg report said.
This is because the embattled strait is one of the main points of contention between Iran and US-Israel forces.
NEW: Two Qatari LNG tankers attempted to exit Hormuz this morning, the first laden LNG cargoes to try since the war began. They reversed course hours later and returned to the Persian Gulf, per Bloomberg.
— The Hormuz Letter (@HormuzLetter) April 6, 2026
The Al Daayen and Rasheeda loaded LNG in Qatar in late February. They… pic.twitter.com/OEH3dI69rJ
While Iran seeks to retain control over the waterway and end the war completely, US President Donald Trump has threatened to blow up a defiant Tehran's critical infrastructure if it does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz and agree to a ceasefire before the end of his ultimatum on Tuesday.
It has also indicated that even after the war ends, the Strait of Hormuz would not go back to its original state, and safe passage would be restricted for ships linked to US and Israel.
In that regard, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) continues to monitor the strait, attacking any ship that violates its safe passage rule and tries to cross the strait anyway.
With the Hormuz Strait choked, Qatar is one of the many countries facing severe export shock, as it supplied nearly a fifth of the world's LNG last year.
In general, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran has brought traffic to a near-standstill in the waterway that once saw the flow of nearly 20 per cent of the world's energy cargo.
This has led to a rise in fuel prices around the world, sparking a sharp rise in gasoline prices in places like the US. In places like India—one of the few nations whose vessels are permitted to transit the strait with permission—this has, for now, kept the LPG crisis at bay and crude oil reserves plentiful, as the war in the Gulf rages on.
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