Middle East Producers Continue Oil and LNG Loadings Despite Recent Ship Attacks

Middle East producers have continued loading oil and liquefied natural gas despite recent vessel attacks in the Strait of Hormuz and a new round of conflict between the United States and Iran. According to Jin10, shipping data showed that a container ship attack on Thursday and a tanker attack on Saturday triggered retaliatory strikes, threatening a temporary peace arrangement between Washington and Iran and briefly slowing energy shipments through the strait. A U.S. official said on Sunday that the two countries had agreed to halt recent hostilities and restart talks over the strategically important waterway. LSEG data showed that on Monday, a fourth very large crude carrier (VLCC) with capacity of up to 2 million barrels was loading at Saudi Arabia’s Ras Tanura terminal. The data also showed that three other VLCCs loaded crude after leaving the terminal over the weekend and then went “dark,” switching off transponders to reduce the risk of attack while sailing in the Gulf. The data indicated that one of the supertankers reappeared on Monday after exiting the strait and was heading to Japan. LSEG data also showed that two additional VLCCs entered the strait on Sunday and had berthed at terminals in the United Arab Emirates to load crude.