Image for representation purposes only Four Qatar-controlled liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers entered the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, despite a sharp drop in ship traffic after Iran said it had closed the strategic waterway again over the weekend. The LNG carriers, Al Sadd, Mekaines, Mesaimeer, and Wadi Al Sail, entered the strait via the Iranian route for the first time since the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran began on February 28, according to ship-tracking data from analytics firm Kpler. QatarEnergy, whose LNG exports have been heavily affected since the conflict began, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Marshall Islands-flagged dry bulk vessel Summit Success also entered the Gulf on Monday, according to LSEG data. Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains well below normal levels. Kpler data showed only five vessels passed through the strait on Sunday, compared with 26 the previous day. Those included three Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs), each carrying about 2 million barrels of Saudi crude or fuel oil. One of the tankers was heading to Japan. Shipbroker Clarksons said daily vessel crossings are still below the roughly 125 transits seen before the conflict began, although traffic is gradually picking up. Shipping sources said the actual number of ships using the strait could be higher because some vessels may have switched off their Automatic Identification System (AIS) transponders or experienced AIS tracking outages. The U.S. Navy-led Joint Maritime Information Center said commercial traffic has started increasing, with ships using both Omani territorial waters and the northern Iranian-controlled route through the strait. Iran had lifted its effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz last week after agreeing with the United States to extend an April ceasefire by 60 days to allow peace talks to continue. However, Tehran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced on Saturday that it had closed the waterway again in response