Qatar has temporarily halted vessel movements in its territorial waters following a serious disruption in satellite navigation systems. The country’s Ministry of Transport announced on Saturday that all ships must suspend navigation due to a “technical fault in the GPS” that has affected routing accuracy.
The suspension comes against the backdrop of a regional surge in GPS jamming incidents. According to Windward, hundreds of ships in the Arabian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz experience daily interference – some AIS signals even showing vessels “located” far inland.
The disruption is hitting energy exports particularly hard. QatarEnergy has already restricted nighttime navigation in export channels, banning vessel transits between 18:00 and 05:00 over safety concerns linked to the jamming.
Reports of GPS spoofing – falsifying a vessel’s position – have been increasing throughout the 2020s. The Red Sea, Black Sea, Persian Gulf, and South China Sea have all emerged as hotspots.
In June, two tankers collided south of the Strait of Hormuz following GPS spoofing, while in May, the containership MSC Antonia ran aground near Jeddah after its navigation system displayed false coordinates.
Qatar suspends navigation amid widespread GPS failure
