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.
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
Trade for March-loading Russian oil in top buyer Asia has stalled as a wide price gap between buyers and sellers emerged in China after costs for chartering tankers unaffected by U.S. sanctions jumped, according to traders and shipping data.
Japan's biggest top LNG buyer, JERA, plans to increase its purchases of liquefied natural gas from the United States to diversify its supply and meet demand growth spurred by data centers and AI, a senior executive told Reuters.
Freight rates for Russian ESPO Blend oil loading from the Far Eastern port of Kozmino have jumped fivefold amid a lack of vessels after fresh U.S. sanctions cut availability of tankers, three traders said and data showed.
January 23, 2025
Total Views: 510
Sign Up Now for gCaptain Daily
We’ve got your daily industry news related to the global maritime and offshore industries.
JOIN OUR CREW
Maritime and offshore news trusted by our 108,866 members delivered daily straight to your inbox.
Your Gateway to the Maritime World!
Essential news coupled with the finest maritime content sourced from across the globe.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.