Tanker carrying Qatari gas sails toward Hormuz amid tensions

Qatari LNG tanker Al Kharaitiyat was sailing towards the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday after departing Qatar's Ras Laffan en route to Port Qasim in Pakistan, according to LSEG shipping data.

 A successful passage would mark the first transit by a Qatari LNG tanker through the strait since the start of the war on Iran. There was no immediate comment from QatarEnergy.

The LNG is being sold by Qatar to Pakistan - a mediator in the war - under a government-to-government deal, according to two people familiar with the matter. They said Iran had approved the shipment to help build confidence with Qatar and Pakistan.

Pakistan has been in discussions with Iran to allow a limited number of LNG tankers to pass through the strait, as Islamabad urgently needs to address its gas shortage, a source briefed on the agreement told Reuters.

Iran agreed to assist, and the two sides are coordinating the first vessel's safe passage carrying gas supplied under Pakistan's agreement with Qatar, its main LNG supplier, the source added.

The vessel, managed by Nakilat Shipping Qatar Ltd and sailing under the Marshall Islands flag, has a cargo capacity of 211,986 cubic metres, according to LSEG data.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards halted two Qatar LNG tankers, Al Daayen and Rasheeda, that had been heading towards the Strait of Hormuz on April 6 and instructed them to hold position without explanation, a source told Reuters at the time.

Qatar is the world's second-largest exporter of LNG, with shipments mostly going to buyers in Asia. Iranian attacks knocked out 17% of Qatar's LNG export capacity, with repairs expected to sideline 12.8 million tons per year of the fuel for three to five years.