Oil Tankers Idling Off Shandong Show Depth of Demand Destruction
Oil Tankers Idling Off Shandong Show Depth of Demand Destruction
(Bloomberg) -- The time spent by tankers waiting to unload cargoes of crude and refined fuel at ports in Shandong has jumped more than fourfold in some cases as the coronavirus crimps demand from the nation’s refiners.
Two vessels have been idling for 20 days or more off the eastern Chinese province, home to most of the nation’s independent processors, compared with a typical wait of less than five days, according to data compiled by Bloomberg as of Feb. 12. A further five ships have been parked for 5-13 days. The tankers are still laden with crude and products after loading at ports in Norway and the Middle East.
Refiners across the country are cutting production due to slumping demand and swelling domestic inventories as the outbreak slashes travel and the movement of people. Processing rates at Shandong’s plants have plunged to less than 50% this month, down from 70% in December, according to the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies. Qingdao Port International said the discharge of crude inventories has slowed, although operations are normal.
The following is a list of crude and product tankers that have been idle for at least five days off the coast of Shandong as of Feb. 12:
| Name | Type | Load Port | Last Port | Wait Time (Estimated) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chang Hang Ma Nao | Handymax | Yeosu (STS) | N/A | 10 days | Waiting off Dongying since Feb. 3. Loaded cargo around Feb. 1 |
| Yong Xing Zhou | Panamax/LR1 | Yeosu | N/A | 10 days | Waiting off Dongying with cargo since Feb. 3 |
| San Ding Chang Le | Panamax/LR1 | Hong Kong (STS) | N/A | 20 days | Waiting off Lianyungang since Jan. 24. Loaded cargo around Jan 19 |
| S-Trooper | Aframax/LR2 | Fujairah | N/A | 24 days | Waiting off Longkou with cargo since Jan. 20 |
| Yang Ning Hu | Aframax/LR2 | Dalian | N/A | 13 days | Loaded cargo at Dalian |
| Sandra | VLCC | Mongstad, Norway | Huangdao | 12 days | Waiting to discharge at Dongjiakou. Ship previously unloaded partial cargo Jan. 28 at Huangdao |
| Olympic Legend | VLCC | Ash Shihr, Yemen | N/A | 5 days | Waiting off Lanshan |
To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Ann Koh in Singapore at akoh15@bloomberg.net;Kevin Varley in Singapore at kvarley@bloomberg.net;Sarah Chen in Beijing at schen514@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Serene Cheong at scheong20@bloomberg.net, Ben Sharples, Andrew Janes
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With assistance from Bloomberg