QatarEnergy is offering for lease 10 liquefied natural gas tankers currently located outside the Strait of Hormuz, two industry sources told Reuters.

These include at least four Q-Flex tankers, Murwab, Al Safliya, Al Thumama and ​Al Oraiq, with a ​capacity of 210,000 ⁠cu m, which are able to carry up to 50% more volume than conventional LNG tankers and are typically used by Qatargas ​to export its LNG to Europe or Asia.

The others are dual-fuel, ​two-stroke engine ⁠vessels with a capacity of 174,000 cu m.

The world's second-largest LNG exporter has announced a production halt at ​its 77 million tonne per annum (mtpa) facility as ​the US-Iran conflict heads into its second week.

The move from the Qatari group comes at a time when LNG freight rates are at a new high with ​Atlantic rates hitting a new week-on-week record, increasing by $221,500/day to $264,250/day, the highest since December 2022, according to data from ​Spark Commodities. 

Qatari Energy Minister Saad Al Kaabi ⁠told the Financial Times it would take "weeks to months" to return to normal deliveries, even ​if the war ended today. The company declared force majeure on LNG shipments on Wednesday.

The ​production halt has intensified competition between the Atlantic and Pacific basins for LNG cargoes, sending European and Asian gas prices and LNG freight rates to multi-year highs.