Night navigation to resume in Mesaieed amid less GPS interference

QatarEnergy will allow night navigation of the water channel to Mesaieed -- one of the country's main petroleum hubs – to resume from Aug. 3 due to reduced electronic interference, according to a memo seen by Platts.

Port management has decided to lift the restrictions on all ships "due to stabilized GPS reports," and pilotage will be provided as per normal procedures, the state-owned energy firm said in the memo.

The company has suspended all channel navigation from 6 pm to 5 am local time (1500-0200 GMT) since June 23, when Iran launched missiles at the largest US military base in the Middle East, al-Udeid, roughly 25 km from Mesaieed.

Aside from minor initial delays, ship operators have been able to schedule their ship arrivals accordingly and loading operations have been generally normal in recent weeks, a local ship agent said.

S&P Global Commodities at Sea data suggested that Mesaieed has exported 113,000 b/d of crude and condensate so far in July, compared with 118,000 b/d in June.

Mesaieed's safety measures were enacted because of Global Position System signal disruptions that had "affected vessel positioning and the reliability of channel buoy lights," QatarEnergy earlier said.

Seafarers would need to rely on radar and visual recognition when their navigational systems are compromised, as visibility during dark hours is low, according to industry officials.

Iran and Israel were engaged in military conflicts in June, during which both sides launched airstrikes against each other. Industry officials said some Gulf states turned up their jammers as a precaution to defend their bases, which affected ship operations.

"The peak of this electronic interference was during the 12-day war in June and the levels now witnessed have reduced significantly," the UK Maritime Trade Operations said in a note July 25.