Smoke is seen near the site of last week’s explosions at Binhai new district in Tianjin, China, August 17, 2015. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
SINGAPORE/SHANGHAI, Aug 17 (Reuters) – Many operations have resumed at China’s Tianjin port, trade sources said, after explosions last week that killed more than 100 people and disrupted business at what is an important oil, gas and bulk import harbour for Asia’s biggest economy.
The explosions on Aug. 12 led to the disruption of all chemical and oil tanker discharges at the port, and imports of iron ore were also affected.
But shipping data from Reuters on Monday showed that tankers were discharging again, with traders and shippers confirming that operations had restarted over the weekend.
Port officials were not immediately available for comment.
The Tianjin Maritime Safety Administration’s traffic control department said in a statement: “At present, ships apart from those carrying hazardous goods or bunker oil are entering and exiting Tianjin Port’s north section normally. All other berths are operating normally according to sailing plans.”
Reuters spoke to several captains of tankers and dry bulk freighters that are currently in the Tianjin port region, either waiting to discharge or to leave the port, and all said that operations now seemed to be broadly back to normal.
One shipbroker said he had not heard of any problems with oil operations at the port on Monday. “So far, so good,” he said. An oil trader also said he had not heard of any trouble with oil loading at Tianjin on Monday.
Located close to Beijing, Tianjin is one of eastern China’s most important oil and gas terminals, with large commercial and strategic oil storage facilities as well as a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) for liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports.
It is also an important point of entry for iron ore, a key ingredient for China’s giant steel-making industry.
A spokesman for Australian ore miner Fortescue Metals Group said: “To date, there has been no impact on Fortescue’s iron ore cargoes going through the Port of Tianjin.”
Traders said the strategic petroleum reserve (SPR) facility at Tianjin had not been affected by the explosion.
China, the world’s biggest crude oil consumer alongside the United States, imports nearly 60 percent of the crude it consumes. It is constructing vast new oil storage sites to build up its strategic reserves so that eventually it will have 90 days’ worth of import demand in stock.
Although ship entries and exits seemed to be returning to normal, shippers said the blasts had worsened the port congestion Tianjin already suffered from.
China Ocean Shipping Company, China’s largest shipping group, said its ships anchored at Tianjin had not been affected but that some of its facilities in the area suffered varying levels of damage.
Singamas Container Holdings Ltd said its logistics depot had temporarily suspended operation. (Reporting by Asia commodities team; Editing by Alan Raybould)
LONDON, Oct 13 (Reuters) – Port and logistics firm DP World is going ahead with a 1 billion pound ($1.3 billion) investment in its London Gateway port, Britain’s government said on Sunday after reports...
By Julian Lee (Bloomberg) Moscow’s use of the tankers sanctioned for their involvement in the Russian oil trade is accelerating, with close to one-third of the blacklisted vessels back at work....
By Gautam Naik (Bloomberg) After fearing the worst from Hurricane Milton, investors in catastrophe bonds appear to have sustained losses well below those predicted as recently as Wednesday. Estimates that had...
October 10, 2024
Total Views: 674
Why Join the gCaptain Club?
Access exclusive insights, engage in vibrant discussions, and gain perspectives from our CEO.
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.