LNG

Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) has moved a second LNG carrier through the Strait of Hormuz, with tankers going off the radar when transiting the critical waterway as security risks persist. The two carriers loaded at Das Island terminal and appear to be heading to Japan and China.

“Apparently, there is a new game in town: empty LNG tankers moving near the Strait of Hormuz, going dark, loading LNG, crossing the Strait again and then reappearing in the middle of the ocean loaded,” commented Anne-Sophie Corbeau, Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP) research scholar at Columbia University.

“The Qataris do not seem to be playing this game. Yet,” she noted.

Mraweh, one of ADNOC’s LNG carriers, officially did not transit Hormuz – but it reappeared laden near Indonesia and has now been tracked as heading towards Japan. Sohar, another LNG carrier, crossed the Strait in early April – empty.

Kpler data indicates the ADNOC-linked LNG carrier Mubaraz has transited the Strait on April 27 after a 30-day tracking blackout. This week, Mubaraz re-emerged off southern India – apparently en route to China’s Tianjin regas terminal where it is expected to arrive on May 15.

Though ADNOC has not officially confirmed that the cargo originates from Das Island, ship tracking data identifies it as one of the first loaded LNG crossing Hormuz since hostilities began, disrupting Persian Gulf exports that comprised 20% of global supply in 2025.