Tankers carrying US gas turn around in mid-ocean and sail to Europe – FT

Amid rising prices in the EU, traders are rerouting their gas from Asia to Europe.

Tankers carrying American liquefied natural gas (LNG) are turning around in the ocean and heading for Europe to take advantage of rising prices on the European market , the Financial Times reports .

According to the publication, at least seven gas carriers that were heading to South Africa, Asia and Colombia have changed their route and are now heading to European ports.

“It’s unusual to see so many price changes and so many obvious reversals,” said LNG market analyst Alex Frawley.

The Financial Times links these events to high gas prices in Europe, which were caused by the suspension of Russian gas supplies through Ukraine amid a cold winter in the western part of the continent.

The price increases are opening up opportunities for companies and traders to make bigger profits than sending their cargoes to Asia, where demand is lower and prices are lower. Spark Commodities estimates that rerouting LNG carriers to Europe instead of Asia now increases profits per tanker by an average of $5.3 million.

“Europe is increasingly relying on its ability to attract LNG after losing Russian gas via Ukraine as it runs out of gas in storage. EU gas storage was 59 percent full as of Monday, down 15 percent on the same period last year,” explains the Financial Times.

(C)UNIAN 2025