(March 2): Liquefied natural gas tankers set to load shipments in Qatar or the United Arab Emirates appear to be temporarily abandoning those plans, as most shipowners and traders avoid the Strait of Hormuz. At least 13 empty LNG tankers that were on the eastern side of the chokepoint have diverted away, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. LNG vessels and other ships stopped crossing the waterway over the weekend following the initial strikes by the US and Israel on Iran. Exports from Qatar, the world’s largest LNG supplier after the US, must go through Hormuz to reach customers in Asia and Europe. “We are in uncharted territory.”There was a string of mixed messages around Hormuz over the weekend, as well as attacks on oil tankers.

Source: The Edge Markets March 02, 2026 02:10 UTC