Europe is set to import a record amount of US crude this month, increasingly relying on larger tankers as sanctions against Russian energy disrupt global trade routes. This is reported by Bloomberg.
Vessels carrying 1.84 million barrels per day are due to arrive from the US Gulf to Europe in March, including 11 Super Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) and 16 Suezmax vessels, according to tanker tracking data. These large ships now carry about 60% of the crude oil on the route, compared to 37% a year ago. Supertankers can carry about 2 million barrels of oil, and Suezmax about 1 million.
It is noted that the "trade boom" is another side effect of Russia's war in Ukraine and the sanctions imposed by the West on the aggressor country. This change is likely to make the fleet less efficient, thereby reducing the overall supply of tankers, which carry about 40% of the world's oil.
Smaller ships known as Aframaxes, with a capacity of around 700,000 barrels, are usually used to transport oil. This is partly because there are only a handful of ports in Europe that can accommodate supertankers, usually designed for the longest voyages around the world.
However, Bloomberg notes, Aframax is in short supply today as traders book vessels to transport more and more Russian oil to Asia. Large importers such as China and India are picking up more volumes as Western buyers have turned away from shipments due to sanctions against Russia for its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
