A liquefied natural gas tanker that usually shuttles between Qatar and the U.K. made its first trip to Japan, where the fuel costs almost twice as much, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The Zarga, owned by Qatar Gas Transport Co., arrived in Nagoya, Japan, on Feb. 9, its first voyage to the Asian nation since the ship was built in 2010, AISLive Ltd. ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg show. In the past year, the vessel has sailed six times to the U.K.'s Milford Haven terminal and once to China.

One million British thermal units of Qatari LNG costs $17.12 in Japan, compared with $8.87 in the U.K., according to January data from New York-based shipbroker Poten & Partners. Accounting for costs to transport the fuel and convert it back to gas, the return from shipping Qatari LNG to Japan is 138 percent higher, the figures show.

The vessel is under long-term charter to Qatar Liquefied Gas Co., a venture between state-controlled Qatar Petroleum and international oil companies. A QatarGas spokeswoman and a Qatar Gas Transport spokesman declined to comment.

Source: Bloomberg