A vessel carrying U.S. liquefied natural gas has sailed directly from the U.S. to China for the first time since trade tensions between Washington and Beijing effectively halted direct shipments, vessel-tracking data
A vessel carrying U.S. liquefied natural gas has sailed directly from the U.S. to China for the first time since trade tensions between Washington and Beijing effectively halted direct shipments, vessel-tracking data showed.
However, analysts say it may never enter China as the terminal's bonded storage facilities allow re-exports without import duties.
Carrying a cargo loaded in early June from U.S. energy firm Venture Global LNG's VG.N Plaquemines export plant in Louisiana, the Al Fat'h LNG tanker arrived at the PipeChina Yangpu terminal in China's southern island province of Hainan on Wednesday into Thursday, according to vessel-tracking data from Kpler and Vortexa.
It is the first direct shipment since the Mu Lan offloaded at Zhangzhou in February 2025, before retaliatory tariffs imposed by Beijing and Washington made such imports uneconomic.
At least three LNG vessels have travelled from the U.S. to other countries first before ultimately dropping some small amounts of LNG in China - one in 2025 and two so far in 2026, according to data from the U.S. Department of Energy and financial firm LSEG.
FLEXIBILITY FOR CHINESE IMPORTERS
However, the cargo's arrival does not necessarily mean China will take in the imported LNG, said Vortexa market analyst
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