Chinese tanker takes in 2 million barrels of crude at Iranian terminal
A Chinese supertanker with the capacity to carry two million barrels of crude has docked and embarked at an Iranian port, the first such move since the European Union imposed sanctions on Iran’s oil in July. - According to data from HIS Fairplay, a research company based in England, the Chinese vessel, belonging to the country’s biggest shipping company China Ocean Shipping, was seen at Kharg Island, Iran’s largest export terminal, on March 21, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday. Since July 2012, when the EU imposed new bans on Iran to prevent its member states from purchasing, trading and insuring the Iranian oil, it is the first time that a Chinese tanker has visited a port in Iran, the company said. Over the past six months, China has depended on National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) for the delivery of Iran’s crude oil to its refineries. Official figures show that China imported nearly 410,000 barrels of crude from Iran in January and February this year, up two percent from a year ago. “As far as I can see, this is the first confirmed visit to an Iranian port by a Chinese-owned crude oil carrier since the ban,” said Richard Hurley, senior maritime data specialist at IHS Fairplay.