Shipping data shows that a liquefied gas vessel crossed the Bab al-Mandab Strait and is now sailing through the Red Sea. This is a rare event for LNG shipments after attacks by the Yemeni Houthis against ships in the region.

Ship tracking data from LSEG & Kpler revealed that the Asya Energy vessel had passed through Yemen on June 18 at the same time as a second vessel believed to have suffered a direct hit by Yemeni Houthi militants sank.

Asya Energy was the first LNG tanker that sailed through the Bab el Mandeb strait in January of this year, when LNG voyages across the Red Sea had been suspended due to repeated rocket attacks," LSEG analyst Olumide Adjayi said. He added that data indicated that the ship was carrying cargo.

After repeated missile and drone attacks in the Red Sea area by Houthis, most LNG tankers avoided this route. They have expanded their attacks to other waterways and claim that they are in solidarity with Palestinians during Israel's Gaza war.

The Red Sea and the Mediterranean are connected by the Suez Canal. This is the shortest route for shipping between Europe and Asia. It is also connected to the Gulf of Aden via the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, which is between Yemen and Djibouti.

Kpler data shows that Asya Energy, a company flying the flag of Palau, is headed to Gibraltar. LSEG showed that it had previously docked at the Sohar Port in Oman. The charterer of the ship was not immediately known.

Data on Equasis revealed that Lule One Services owns the ship, which is managed by Global Shipping.

Nur Global Shipping didn't respond immediately to a LinkedIn request for comment.

Could not find any contact information for Lule One Services.

Ana Subasic is a natural gas and LNG analyst with Kpler. She said that the Asya Energy vessel could soon be the first vessel to pass through the Red Sea Passage since Jan. 12, after waiting around Oman's coast since mid-January.

She said: "At the moment, the AIS (automatic Identification System) signal feed that our platform receives shows the ballast ship has set a route towards the Gibraltar Checkpoint. Although I would take this information with a grain, it's too early to make an accurate prediction."

We are watching it very closely and we're waiting for new raw signals from the market or other sources.

Leaders in industry have called on urgent action to be undertaken to stop Houthi attacks against merchant ships in the Red Sea.

The first vessel sunk was Rubymar, owned by the UK. The ship sank on 2 March, about two weeks after it was hit by missiles.