Qatar asks LNG ships to go dark near export hub over security concerns

Qatar is asking ships near its main liquefied natural gas export facility to turn off their transponders, apparently triggering a wave of tankers going dark across the Persian Gulf. 

The directive came this week for vessels within Ras Laffan port, anchorages and port waters to switch off their Automatic Identification System, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified because of lack of authorization to speak to media. The move is a safety measure, one of the people said.

 

QatarEnergy didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

 

At least nine LNG tankers that were anchored near Qatar stopped sending signals from May 11, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. This is an abnormal move in the LNG industry, where ships are encouraged to keep sending their signal to avoid collision with other vessels.

 

 

Energy exporters in the Persian Gulf are increasingly masking the location of their tankers due to higher security concerns as the conflict in the Middle East persists for a third month. At least two tankers that loaded at Abu Dhabi National Oil Co.’s Das Island facility recently went dark to carry shipments out of the Strait of Hormuz, Bloomberg reported earlier this month.

 

Hormuz has remained virtually shut as the US and Iran struggle to reach a peace agreement, with both sides enforcing a de facto blockade on a waterway that normally handles about a fifth of global LNG supply. Vessels continue to face security threats. A cargo ship was recently targeted by a drone in Qatari waters, causing a small fire, according to the country’s defense ministry.

 

Earlier attacks have also hit Qatar’s sprawling LNG export facilities, which the energy minister has said could take years to fully repair.

 

The closure of the strait has largely halted flows from Qatar, the world’s second largest exporter. One shipment from the country transited the chokepoint over the past weekend, following Pakistan’s talks with Iran to allow safe passage, according to people familiar with the matter. 

 

A second vessel, Mihzem, loaded with Qatari LNG and signaling Pakistan as its destination, appeared to slightly turn back from the Strait of Hormuz after initially approaching the waterway on Monday, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. But the vessel hasn’t sent a signal since midnight local time, and it isn’t clear if it continued the journey across.