The Indian LNG tanker "Disha," chartered by Petronet LNG and managed by the Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), has successfully transited the Strait of Hormuz. This marks a significant development as it is the first commercial vessel to do so since the US and Iran announced a peace agreement aimed at reopening the critical waterway. The vessel had been stranded in the Persian Gulf for over three months with a cargo of Qatari LNG, destined for Petronet's Dahej terminal in Gujarat, India.
The transit of the "Disha" comes after a provisional agreement between Washington and Tehran to halt hostilities and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint through which approximately one-fifth of the world's oil and substantial volumes of LNG pass. This agreement helped ease global energy supply concerns, leading to a 5.8% drop in European natural gas prices and a more than 4% fall in Brent crude. The formal signing of the US-Iran agreement is expected later this week in Geneva.
While the "Disha"s passage is a positive indicator, uncertainty remains regarding the full normalization of shipping activity. Shipowners and analysts, such as those from Kpler, are cautiously optimistic, noting that full restoration of traffic could take weeks as operators await further details on the agreement, mine clearance operations, and assurances of safe passage. Concerns also persist over Iran's potential plan to charge a "service fee" for passage through the strait and the lingering risks in the region despite a lowered threat assessment from "critical" to "substantial" by the Joint Maritime Information Centre.
The reopening of the Strait is crucial for energy importers like India, which heavily relies on LNG from Qatar. The prolonged closure led to a sharp decrease in LNG exports, with Qatari shipments falling 93% to 0.42 million tonnes in June from 6.16 million in February, and UAE exports from Das Island dropping to 0.06 million tonnes from 0.38 million. Globally, only 15 LNG carriers had left the region in the preceding months before the agreement.
Despite the "Disha"'s transit, major carriers are not rushing back, with some, like Japanese and European operators, stating they will resume navigation only after full safety assurances. However, vessel tracking services show over 75 tankers heading toward the Middle East, with Qatar also repositioning its empty LNG carriers back to the region, indicating a gradual increase in confidence in the reopening.
