Qatar's PM: Liquefied natural gas shipments 'will be affected' by lack of security in Red Sea

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said on Tuesday that shipments of liquefied natural gas would be affected by the attacks disrupting navigation in the Red Sea. 

Al Thani, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, stated, "Liquefied natural gas... like any other commercial shipments, will be affected by it," referring to the tension in the Red Sea region following Houthi attacks on commercial ships in solidarity with Gaza, which has been witnessing a war between Israel and Hamas since October 7. 

The Qatari Prime Minister added that "there are alternative routes, and those alternative routes are not more efficient but less efficient than the current route," considering that to address the increasing lack of security, the "central issue" in Gaza must be addressed. 

Al-Thani's statements come days after US and British forces launched dozens of airstrikes on Houthi military sites in the capital Sana'a and the provinces of Hodeidah, Taizz, Hajjah, and Sa'dah, in response to attacks on ships in the maritime corridors off Yemen. 

The Qatari Prime Minister described the crisis in the Red Sea as the "most dangerous escalation at the moment because it not only affects the region but also impacts global trade," amid concerns about the widening scope of conflict in the Middle East. 

On Monday, Bloomberg reported that at least five Qatari-operated liquefied natural gas ships had halted while heading towards the Bab al-Mandab Strait, separating the Arabian Peninsula from the Horn of Africa, where the Houthis have carried out an increasing number of missile and drone attacks on ships they claim are linked to or heading to Israel. 

With escalating military tensions in the region from Yemen to Lebanon, passing through Syria and Iraq, the Qatari Prime Minister believed that a military solution "will not put an end to this issue or contain it. On the contrary, I think it will create... more escalation." 

AFP