Alert: LNG carriers face increased BOG exposure during congestion, drifting and standby

A risk alert published on 8 September 2026 by reports warns that liquefied natural gas carriers face heightened exposure to boil-off gas when extended congestion, drifting and standby conditions disrupt normal shipboard management.

The alert says such disruptions increase operational, commercial and contractual risk by constraining mitigation options and raising the likelihood of disputes over cost, time and cargo allocation.

Operational triggers and immediate effects

The report identifies prolonged port congestion, periods of drifting and extended standby as the principal triggers that upset routine boil-off gas management for LNG carriers. Under those conditions the usual balance between boil-off generation and on‑board handling can be distorted, producing greater BOG exposure than planned for in voyage and cargo calculations.

When exposure rises, options to respond are often limited, the alert notes, because ships may be unable to proceed to facilities or to implement measures that would normally restore equilibrium. That narrowing of mitigation choices is presented as a practical cause of subsequent operational stress and potential safety and commercial consequences.

Commercial and contractual fallout

reports reports that contested bills for fuel and time, claims over cargo quantity and quality and disagreements about allocation of costs have all become more likely where BOG management has been impaired by congestion or standby. The alert links increased BOG exposure directly to a higher incidence of disputes over who bears additional expense and delay.

Owners, charterers and terminal operators all face amplified contractual exposure when normal patterns of cargo handling and voyage progression are interrupted. The report highlights that standard commercial arrangements can be tested when an unexpected accumulation of BOG triggers unplanned use of fuel, additional time at anchor or altered cargo calculations.

Key risk areas outlined in the alert include:

• operational imbalance between generated boil‑off and handling capacity;
• constrained mitigation options during prolonged standby or drifting; and
• heightened potential for disagreements on costs, time and cargo allocation.

Record‑keeping and data integrity

A central recommendation in the alert is the need for clear, contemporaneous operational records. Maintaining accurate operational data and preserving precise records of instructions and communications are presented as essential steps to limit commercial and contractual exposure.

The report suggests that where disputes arise, robust data sets and traceable instructions strengthen a party's ability to demonstrate what occurred, why mitigation options were chosen and how additional costs or time were incurred. The alert therefore frames good record‑keeping as a practical defence against contested claims.

Industry stakeholders are urged to give particular attention to the integrity and availability of voyage and cargo data from the period of congestion or standby. The report portrays such records as central to resolving disagreements that flow from elevated BOG exposure.

The risk alert published by reports is positioned as a prompt for owners, charterers and terminals to review contingency arrangements for boil‑off management during atypical port and anchorage conditions. It draws a direct line between operational disruption and commercial friction and recommends an emphasis on contemporaneous data and clear, documented instructions to mitigate downstream disputes.

Taken together, the alert describes a chain of risk: prolonged congestion or standby can disturb on‑board BOG balances, limited mitigation options may follow, and unresolved operational choices can translate into commercial and contractual disagreement. The publication therefore frames stronger data discipline and clarity of instruction as immediate, practicable measures to reduce that chain of risk.