A heavy stillness has spread across the breakwater at the Port of Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan, where giant gas carriers were once a daily sight, transporting liquefied natural gas cargoes from Qatar to the massive white storage tanks lining the coast.
But the scene has changed completely in recent weeks. No Qatari tanker has docked at the Yongan terminal since early March, following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital artery for energy flows to Asian markets.
The supply stoppage reflects the scale of the repercussions caused by the strait's closure on regional energy security, at a time when Taiwan faces mounting challenges in maintaining its strategic gas reserves needed to operate power plants and vital industries.
