After receiving paltry volumes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar for seven months amid the West Asia conflict, India’s imports of super-chilled gas from the Gulf state staged a massive recovery this month, placing Doha at the second spot among New Delhi’s source markets, as per vessel tracking data. Qatar has been India’s top source of LNG, but the disruption in vessel movements through the Strait of Hormuz led to a crash in supply volumes starting March.But the trend saw a striking reversal this month, with 0.44 million tonnes (mt) of Qatari LNG delivered to India by October 25, up nearly 370% from volumes imported in all of September, according to provisional data from commodity market analytics firm Kpler. In March-September, LNG imports from Qatar averaged just 0.07 mt, just a fraction of the 2025 monthly average of 0.95 mt. Qatar was only second to the US in terms of LNG supplies to India in the October 1-25 period, when overall import volumes grew sequentially as well as on a year-on-year (y-o-y) basis.According to industry insiders and experts, Qatar — which depends solely on the Strait of Hormuz to export LNG — has turned more aggressive in using tactics like switching off the LNG tankers’ transponders, or “going dark”, to avoid detection and capitalising on windows of opportunity based on maritime security assessments in the region.Ship-to-ship transfers, India looks beyond HormuzDoha’s increased risk tolerance follows similar tactics being used by the UAE for a few months now to ship its LNG through the fraught waters of the strait. Additionally, industry sources indicated that ship-to-ship (STS) transfers are also being used by Qatar to move LNG beyond the strait.STS transfers have already emerged as a key ploy for Gulf producers to move oil out of the Persian Gulf. Unlike regular operations, in which crude is loaded onto tankers that sail directly to the destination port, STS transfers involve a shuttle tanker that carries the oil for some distance, after which the cargo is transferred to another tanker. In STS operations in the Strait of Hormuz, the supplier usually takes on the responsibility — and the risk — of sending the oil through the strait, after which a tanker waiting in safer waters takes the oil to its destination.STS is not that common in LNG flows as the process is a lot more complex than transferring crude from one tanker to another. Super-chilled gas requires cryogenic hoses to be transferred, and requires much more careful handling. However, in the absence of any alternative route to evacuate export volumes, Qatar is evidently resorting to STS transfers ahead of the northern hemisphere winter, when demand jumps globally.“Qatari LNG deliveries to India are at their highest monthly level since the conflict began… For India, a sustained recovery in Qatari supply could ease the pressure to source replacement cargoes from other suppliers, particularly as underlying import requirements remain firm despite elevated prices,” said Sonal Ranjan, LNG and Natural Gas Analyst at Kpler.Story continues below this adRobust LNG demand in India has led to importers competing hard to pick up cargoes from the spot market at super-normal prices, even as some of the other major Asian LNG buyers have curtailed imports. The West Asia crisis has pushed India to secure cargoes from non-Hormuz dependent supply sources, as New Delhi has been prioritising supplies over price considerations amid demand from various sectors, which include city gas distribution, fertiliser, power, and ceramics.India’s LNG import trends shiftThe US was the top LNG supplier to India in the October 1-25 period, reclaiming the pole position after losing it to Oman in September. India imported 0.56 mt of American LNG during the period, up 61.4% over the volumes delivered in all of September. In the third spot was the UAE, which supplied 0.38 mt of LNG to India in the first 25 days of October. In September, LNG imports from the UAE stood at 0.31 mt.Oman was in the fourth spot in the October 1-25 period, with volumes at 0.30 mt against 0.58 mt for the whole of last month. Nigeria, which was the second-largest LNG supplier to India in September, came in fifth in the first 25 days of October, with volumes at 0.28 mt, down 21.5% from last month. India’s total LNG imports in the October 1-25 period stood at 2.51 mt, up 12.2% over volumes imported in all of last month, and 9.8% y-o-y. These trends are expected to hold for the remainder of October, even as overall volumes might end up being slightly higher.Despite surging prices amid the West Asia crisis, India continued to import more LNG on a y-o-y basis due to robust demand from various important sectors. India depends on LNG imports to meet about half of its natural gas requirement. Before the West Asia war broke out in late February, about 60% of India’s LNG imports came through the Strait of Hormuz, primarily from Qatar and also the UAE.Story continues below this adAfter falling in March and April — the first two months of the West Asia war — India’s LNG imports have trended consistently higher on a y-o-y basis. In the May-September period, super-chilled gas imports rose 17.8% y-o-y to 11.87 mt, as per Kpler data.