Dozens of ships carrying liquefied natural gas (LNG) circling off the coasts of Spain unable to secure slots to unload have prompted grid operators for the country to warn they may have to suspend loading to deal with this “exceptional situation”.

Europe is facing an energy supply squeeze as Russia has progressively cut gas flows after the West imposed sanctions in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February.

The region has had to find alternative supplies, including LNG, but the arrival of multiple cargoes of the superchilled fuel has exposed Europe’s lack of “regasification” capacity, as plants that convert the seaborne fuel back to gas are operating at maximum limit.

If the backlog is not cleared soon those ships may start looking for alternative ports outside Europe to offload their cargo.

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There are more than 35 LNG-laden vessels drifting off Spain and around the Mediterranean, with at least eight vessels anchored off the Bay of Cadiz alone, traders, analysts and sources at LNG terminals familiar with the situation said on Monday.

Read more: Reuters