en.Wedoany.com Reported - A brief worker strike at Australia's Ichthys liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant delayed the loading of a vessel bound for Taiwan by approximately 24 hours, highlighting supply risks at the facility. The strike was initiated by the Offshore Alliance, a coalition of the Maritime Union of Australia and the Australian Workers' Union, stemming from unresolved labor disputes in negotiations mediated by the Fair Work Commission, with the Electrical Trades Union also joining the action. The incident follows a war between the United States and Israel against Iran that has disrupted Qatari facilities and driven up prices.

According to a post by the Offshore Alliance on social media, the LNG carrier Pacific Breeze missed its loading window due to a two-hour work stoppage, delaying the originally scheduled loading on May 31. Ship tracking data from Kpler indicates the vessel is expected to arrive at Taiwan's Yung An port on June 9 for delivery to Taiwan's state-owned energy company CPC. Inpex and CPC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Ichthys LNG plant, operated by Inpex, Japan's largest oil and gas exploration company, has an annual capacity of approximately 9.3 million tons and primarily supplies Asian buyers. The facility is a joint venture involving Inpex, TotalEnergies, and Australian subsidiaries of Taiwan's CPC Corporation Taiwan, Osaka Gas, Kansai Electric Power, JERA, and Toho Gas. The plant accounts for about 10% of Australia's LNG output, with Australia being the world's second-largest producer of the super-chilled fuel.

Workers began limited strikes on Tuesday and have threatened broader action next week, which could disrupt LNG production and loading. Any supply disruption from a prolonged strike could further tighten an already constrained global LNG market. Since the start of the Iran war, Asian spot LNG prices have surged 75% to $18.20 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), driven by supply losses and shipping risks in the Strait of Hormuz, through which about one-fifth of global oil and LNG supplies typically transit.

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