Over 48 idle Qatari Liquefied Natural Gas Carrier tankers can be found floating throughout Asia due to the temporary halt of production at Qatar's overseas LNG export terminal.
Only a small percentage of these empty vessels will return to Qatar for necessary repairs following months of inactivity and prior to being utilized in new export business.
The tracking data from Bloomberg and Kpler continues to show virtually every one of these vessels is located in several locations, including off of the West coast of India, off the coast of Sri Lanka, at the northern edges of the Strait of Malacca.
These LNG carrier vessels heading for Asia were forced to stop producing LNG after a state-sponsored UAV attack in early March significantly impacted the ability to meet its daily demand for LNG.
Additionally, many of these vessels suspended production due to damage sustained at the facilities in Ras Laffan from a separate attack in late March. Also, shipping prices for all vessels heading for Asia have increased dramatically due to uncertainty regarding the new supply chain.
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The empty vessels manifest how vast and devastating the crisis has affected the LNG business and how many countries have had to reduce their energy usage.
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LNG's passage via the Strait of Hormuz, the body of water connecting the Persian Gulf to the world, has ceased to move from Iran since the United States and Israel began attacking Iran around the end of February.
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There are over 800 tankers operating worldwide today according to the International Group of Liquefied Natural Gas Importers.