'Sohar LNG', first LNG ship to exit Hormuz amid Gulf chaos, ends 25-year run at Gujarat's Alang scrapyard

The Sohar LNG (IMO: 9210816), which became the first liquefied natural gas tanker to exit the Strait of Hormuz amid the war in the Gulf, now faces an end at the Alang scrapyard in Gujarat.

Managed by Oman-based Asyad Shipping, the Panama-flagged LNG tanker will now be the sixth vessel to be recycled at the scrapyard this year, bringing an end to the ship's 25-year-old life.

This comes after the Sohar LNG, which appeared not to be loaded with cargo at the time, took an unusual route along the southern side of the strait after changing its destination to the Qalhat LNG export terminal in Oman.

Built in 2001, the vessel measures nearly 300m with a capacity of 137,248 cubic metres, and was sold for recycling at a price of $23 million, Asyad confirmed on Tuesday.

The steam turbine-driven LNG ship has been a part of Asyad's fleet since 2003, co-owned (50 per cent) with Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd as a Joint Venture (JV).

"As part of its strategy to maintain a young fleet and efficient operations, Asyad Shipping has continued to explore opportunities to divest older tonnage as planned," it disclosed in a Muscat Stock Exchange (MSX) filing on Tuesday.

"The Company remains committed to a disciplined fleet renewal strategy, with proceeds from planned divestments to be utilised to support (Alang's) ongoing expansion plan," it added.

This comes after the Gujarat-based scrapyard grabbed attention earlier this year, when it was part of a report which claimed that India's scrapyards were accepting a number of older vessels—especially dark fleet ships.

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The report from Bloomberg had claimed that Alang, which had accepted three dark fleet vessels for recycling by that point this year, was among a number of other scrapyards accepting such vessels despite the legal costs due to declining revenue.

The report also estimated that the Alang scrapyard would have made more than $110 million for the record 15 sanctioned vessels it received last year, which includes the first-ever very large crude carrier blacklisted by the US.