The diversions come after a Qatari liquefied natural gas 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."
The LNG tankers Al Ghariya, Duhail and Al Ruwais were inching westward towards the Strait of Hormuz before changing course to turn away late on Tuesday, data from analytics firms Kpler and LSEG showed.
All three tankers controlled by QatarEnergy were empty and heading towards Qatar's Ras Laffan export facility to load cargoes.
LSEG and Kpler data also showed the Indian-flagged Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) Lila Vadinar, which is carrying 2 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)
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