Sign in
Qatar has halted LNG shipments through the Bab El Mandeb Strait as US-led strikes increased risks, Bloomberg reports, citing ship-tracking data. Some five LNG carriers that were enroute to the passage have paused their journeys. Qatar is Europe’s second largest supplier of natural gas after the US and accounted for 13% of Europe’s consumption last year. Around 209 oil tankers — or 4% of the world’s oil fleet — have started rerouting away from the Red Sea over the weekend in the clearest example of disruption to the oil market since Israel’s war on Gaza began, according to Asharq Business, citing a note from Oil Brokerage.
This includes Qatar’s state-owned LNG carrier QatarEnergy, which is pausing Red Sea transits pending a security update, Reuters reports. “It is a pause to get security advice, if passing [through the] Red Sea remains unsafe we will go via the Cape … It is not a halt of production,” a senior source that the newswire says has direct knowledge of the matter said.
The bigger picture: While the Houthi group hasn’t purposely targeted any oil tankers since the onset of attacks in November, Qatar — the second largest exporter of LNG to Europe — likely views US and UK strikes in Yemen as the beginning of graver tensions in the Red Sea. The American and British navies jointly advised merchant vessels to avoid Red Sea transit following their attacks on Houthi positions.
Yemen’s Houthis targeted a US vessel with an anti-ship ballistic missile, US Central Command (Centcom) said yesterday on X. The missile struck a Marshall-Islands flagged, US operated container vessel dubbed the Gibraltar Eagle, with the ship continuing its journey without reporting injuries to crew or serious damage, Centcom said. The latest attack indicates that the Iranian-backed group seems set to continue its campaign against shipping in the Red Sea despite recent US-led strikes that were intended to fend off such attacks, Reuters said.
The latest attack came on the heels of another against a US warship, whereby the US Navy shot down a cruise missile fired by the Iranian-backed group against an American destroyer operating in the Southern Red Sea, Reuters reported on Sunday. The projectile was shot down by a US Navy fighter and no damage to life or property resulted from the incident, the newswire said citing Centcom.
South Korea is considering “support measures”: South Korea is looking into ways to safeguard its cargo vessels in the Red Sea amid increased tension in the area, South Korean news agency Yonhap reports. “The defense ministry is making all efforts to ensure Korean vessels’ safe shipping in the Red Sea. Various support measures are under consideration, taking into account various factors,” ministry spokesperson Jeon Ha-kyu said. South Korea, along with nine other countries, issued a statement last month voicing support for precision attacks by the US and the UK against the Houthis.
And recent disruptions in Red Sea shipping have not triggered a shift to air freight for FedEx,Reuters reports. “Shipping over the ocean makes up 90% of global commerce so even a small change would have an impact, but we haven’t seen much yet,” CEO of FedEx Raj Subramaniam said. Houthi-led attacks on container ships transiting the Red Sea have pushed retailers to seek transport alternatives, including air and rail.
