Four oil and gas tankers turn back from Hormuz after vessel attacks

Three Qatari-controlled liquefied natural gas tanker (LNG) tankers were inching westward towards the Strait of Hormuz before changing course to turn away late on Tuesday, data from analytics firms Kpler and LSEG shows. 

All three tankers were empty and heading towards Qatar's Ras Laffan export facility to load cargoes.

The diversions come after a Qatari LNG tanker and a Saudi-flagged crude oil tanker were damaged near the strait on Tuesday, prompting maritime authorities to raise the threat risk for transiting vessels to "severe."

LSEG and Kpler data also showed the Indian-flagged very large crude carrier (VLCC) Lila Vadinar, which is carrying two million barrels of Kuwaiti crude loaded late last week, made a U-turn off the tip of Oman in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday.

At least 16 LNG cargoes from Ras Laffan and 10 from Abu Dhabi National Oil Company's Das Island terminal in the UAE have exited the strait since the conflict began in late February. (Reporting by Reuters)