Three more liquefied natural gas tankers have exited the Strait of Hormuz with their transponders off and are bound for destinations in Asia, although the exact timing of their transit is unclear, ship-tracking data from LSEG and Kpler showed.
This comes as the United States and Iran traded air attacks for a second straight day on Thursday, with U.S. President Donald Trump vowing further strikes unless Tehran agrees to a peace deal and Washington saying it fired on a vessel carrying Iranian oil.
QatarEnergy controlled tankers Lebrethah and Rasheeda were last seen west of the strait on June 1 and April 30 respectively, carrying cargoes loaded at Ras Laffan, according to the data.
The tankers then reappeared on ship-tracking data on June 10. Lebrethah, which loaded on May 22, is heading to Pakistan, while Rasheeda which had been carrying a cargo since February 27 is currently nearing Southeast Asia.
A third LNG tanker, Marigold, which is managed by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, also reappeared on ship-tracking data on June 10.
It was last seen ballast and east of the strait on May 1, before reappearing after picking up a cargo from Das Island on May 25. It is indicating that it is heading to India.
ADNOC and QatarEnergy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Including Lebrethah, Rasheeda and Marigold, a total of 12 LNG cargoes have exited the Strait of Hormuz since the war started at end-February.
(Reuters - Reporting by Emily Chow in Singapore and Yousef Saba in Dubai, Editing by Louise Heavens)