Liquefied natural gas shipping costs have surged to their highest level in roughly eight months, driven by reduced vessel availability as more tankers are redirected to Asia amid rising tensions in the Middle East, Reuters reported citing Spark Commodities’ data.
On Monday, the data showed that the Atlantic freight rate for LNG carriers equipped with two-stroke engines and a capacity of 174,000 cubic meters, the market’s most common vessel type, was estimated at $51,750 per day, which is the highest level since October 3.
Meanwhile, the Pacific freight rate for the same class of ship climbed to $36,750 per day on Monday, recording the highest level since October 25.
Qasim Afghan, an analyst at Spark Commodities, explained that this increase in prices is due to the reduction of available vessels as well as the escalation in the Middle East.
Additionally, Egypt’s recent tender to procure up to 160 LNG cargoes through 2026 has further boosted demand for LNG carriers, Reuters stated.
The Israel–Iran conflict has escalated sharply in 2025, marking one of the most serious direct confrontations between the two long-time adversaries. Tensions, rooted in years of proxy warfare and nuclear disputes, erupted into open military exchanges following suspected Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear infrastructure earlier this year.
