Doha-based liquefied natural gas company Qatargas and RasGas have completed the first co-loading of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for split delivery on board LNG carrier Al Khuwair.

The parties co-loaded the cargoes at the Ras Laffan terminal in Qatar on the Q-Flex LNG vessel. The cargoes were delivered to the Zeebrugge LNG Terminal in Belgium and the South Hook LNG Terminal in the United Kingdom, respectively.

This method of multi-port delivery of a single LNG cargo from two separate suppliers “represents a new level of operational flexibility and supply chain efficiency in the LNG industry.”

Prior to this development, the established practice was to load a single cargo for delivery to a single location supplied by a single seller.

“We are delighted to have achieved this key industry milestone through the hard work and dedication of the Qatargas and RasGas teams, vessel operators and our LNG customers,” Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, President and Chief Executive Officer of Qatar Petroleum, and the Chairman of Qatargas Board of Directors, said.

The milestone comes on the back of a political crisis which hit Qatar in at the beginning of June, when Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Egypt cut all diplomatic, trade, and transportation ties with the country.

Air, sea, and land border connections were cut off, blocking all vessels coming from and going to Qatar from the four countries.

Earlie in August, Qatar’s Minister of Transport Jassim bin Saif bin Ahmed Al-Sulaiti informed that the country plans to establish three new direct maritime routes with Malaysia, Pakistan and Taiwan in September to go around the blockades imposed by its neighbors.