Shandong Port Group has banned any tanker sanctioned by the US from calling at its ports.
The group oversees major ports on China’s northeast coast including Qingdao, Rizhao and Yantai, which are among the biggest destinations for sanctioned oil from Russia, Iran and Venezuela.
Reuters has obtained notices sent out by the ports group this week which state that its ports are no longer allowed to dock, unload or provide ship services to vessels on the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) list managed by the US Treasury.
“This would clearly also be a big positive for the ‘legitimate’ tanker market – and create further hindrances for especially Iran and Venezuela exports, possibly also Russia,” analysts at Pareto suggested in a new tanker report.
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Shandong ports account for around 35% of total Chinese crude oil imports. Volumes from Russia and Iran have gone from around 0.5m barrels per day three years ago to more than 1.5m today.
Last year, an average of 0.95m barrels per day of Iran crude were shipped to Shandong, approximately two-thirds of total Chinese imports. Of this, up to 0.5m barrels per day were taken on the tankers that have been sanctioned last year.
Reports have emerged in recent days that the outgoing Joe Biden administration is readying one of its largest packages of sanctions aimed at Russia’s so-called dark fleet of tankers, while Donald Trump, who assumes the presidency of the US on January 20, is being widely tipped to crack down on Iranian oil exports.
Source: Splash 247
