A liquefied natural gas tanker managed by ADNOC Logistics and Services has crossed the Strait of Hormuz and is now showing up off the west coast of India, according to ship-tracking data published Monday. If confirmed, the Mubaraz would be the first loaded LNG tanker to pass through the strait since the Iran war started on February 28. ADNOC did not respond to a request for comment.
The 136,357-cubic-meter vessel was last tracked inside the Gulf on March 30. It then disappeared from monitoring systems for several weeks before reappearing in Indian waters. Data from ICIS LNG Edge, Marine Traffic, and LSEG all show the tanker in its current position. Kpler data analyzed by AFP puts the vessel’s cargo at approximately 132,890 cubic meters of LNG. Tracking data shows a Chinese port as the listed destination, with an estimated arrival in mid-May.
ICIS senior LNG analyst Alex Froley told Reuters the position has not been officially verified. “We have not yet heard official confirmation of the position. There are occasional cases of bad signal data, or of ships spoofing positions or even using another ship’s identity number, but the indicated position does not show immediately obvious signs of this,” he said.
Froley added that even if the crossing is confirmed, it would not guarantee further transits. “One tanker crossing would not necessarily guarantee that more could follow, as the situation has been changing rapidly.”
Kpler analyst Charles Costerousse said the vessel may have crossed during the weekend of April 18 to 19, when multiple ships attempted to transit the strait, including seven LNG tankers. That has not been confirmed.
Evasive Shipping Tactics Widespread Across the Gulf
Ships operating in Gulf waters have been disabling their AIS transponders, transmitting false location coordinates, or using other vessels’ identification numbers since the conflict began. The weeks-long signal gap on the Mubaraz is consistent with that pattern.
An empty Omani LNG tanker managed to cross the strait earlier this month. Several Qatari LNG carriers made two separate attempts in April and did not succeed on either occasion.
Hormuz Closure Has Hit LNG Supply Hard
Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has been sharply reduced since early March. The waterway handles a significant share of global LNG trade. The near-closure has stranded supplies from Qatar and the UAE and pushed Asian LNG imports to their lowest levels since June 2020, according to shipping data.
The UAE Energy Ministry stated this week that the country plans to gradually increase production once freedom of navigation is restored in the strait. The ministry’s statement came alongside the UAE’s announcement of its withdrawal from OPEC and OPEC+, effective May 1.
Previous crossings have been limited. The Sohar LNG transited the strait in an empty state earlier in the conflict. No loaded LNG vessel had been confirmed making the crossing before Monday’s tracking data.
