By Serene Cheong
Jan 15, 2025 (Bloomberg) –The amount of oil stranded off the Chinese coast is growing as traders, refiners and shipping companies try to avoid being caught up in the US’s strictest-ever sanctions on Russian energy flows.
Five tankers carrying almost 4 million barrels of ESPO and Sokol crude from the Russian Far East that should have delivered their cargoes by now are idling in Chinese waters, according to ship-tracking data from Bloomberg and Kpler. Four of those vessels were sanctioned by the US.
Companies involved in the Russian oil trade have been scrambling for solutions since Washington sanctioned more than 180 tankers, as well as traders and insurers, on Friday. While there’s a wind-down period in which crude can be offloaded before the penalties take effect, many ports in Shandong province, a hub for independent refiners, are wary of handling the crude after a warning from a major terminal operator.
There could be an increase in ship-to-ship transfers of oil in response to the sanctions, and more smaller ports being used, shipbrokers said. Crude from the Russian Far East is popular with China’s so-called teapot refiners due to it being relatively cheap and the short travel time.
Read More: China’s Mega Refiners Rush for Oil to Avert Sanctions Disruption
The amount of stranded crude has almost doubled from a couple of days ago and is expected to keep growing for the foreseeable future. The volumes don’t include oil on the Madestar, a very-large crude carrier that recently did a ship-to-ship transfer with another vessel carrying ESPO, the tracking data show. Three other tankers carrying the grade are set to offload in China in the coming days.
| Ship | IMO | Load port (grade) | Load date | Current location | Cargo sizein ’000 bbls | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olia | 9268112 | Kozmino (ESPO) | Jan. 7 | Off Yantai | 709 | Idling off China; ship is sanctioned |
| Mermar | 9231212 | Kozmino (ESPO) | Jan. 5 | Off Longkou | 755 | Idling off China; ship is sanctioned |
| Altair | 9413547 | Kozmino (ESPO) | Jan. 2 | Off Huizhou | 744 | Idling off China |
| Huihai Pacific | 9346732 | Kozmino (ESPO) | Jan. 4 | Off Dongjiakou | 770 | Idling off China; ship is sanctioned |
| Viktor Titov | 9301407 | De-Kastri (Sokol) | Jan. 4 | Off Qingdao | 699 | Idling off China; Sovcomflot tanker; sanctioned |
| Madestar | 9289726 | STS with Pagos at Yeosu | Jan. 9 | Off Qingdao/Rizhao | N/A | Pagos loaded at Kozmino ~Jan. 5; now signals India as destination |
| Nichole | 9332822 | Kozmino (ESPO) | Jan. 11 | Sailing to Lianyungang | 741 | ETA Jan. 15 |
| Olympus | 9511387 | Kozmino (ESPO) | Jan. 10 | Sailing to Dongjiakou | 762 | ETA Jan. 17; Sovcomflot tanker |
| Tai Shan | 9405057 | Kozmino (ESPO) | Jan. 12 | Sailing to Dongjiakou | 769 | ETA Jan. 16 |
© 2025 Bloomberg L.P.
This article contains reporting from Bloomberg, published under license.
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Global oil and gas prices jumped on Tuesday as the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran halted energy exports from the Middle East, with Tehran attacking ships and energy facilities, closing navigation in the Gulf and forcing production stoppages from Qatar to Iraq.
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