BEIJING/SEOUL: Iranian crude volumes received by China have been below contracted levels since September, because Iran’s tanker fleet, the sole transporter of its crude to China, has been struggling to meet delivery schedules, trade sources said yesterday.
Iran, grappling with tough Western sanctions, has delayed loading of some shipments for September, October and November to China, its largest oil customer and top trading partner.
The delays are further evidence the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) is struggling to meet delivery schedules after a European Union insurance ban caused buyers to cut back on orders, forcing NITC to deploy more than half of its tanker fleet to store oil.
“What was nominated was different from what was actually loaded,” said one Chinese buyer. “Almost every cargo was delayed, some were even delayed for 10 to 15 days.”
China is expected to have nominated 15.5 million barrels of Iranian crude for September, roughly 520,000 b/d, which would have required eight very large crude carriers to transport each month. A round trip voyage between Iran and China takes about 48 days.
The NITC has a fleet of 39 oil tankers including 25 VLCCs. Its plan to expand its fleet, including a $1.2bn order to have 12 super-tankers to be built in China, has been postponed. Reuters
