China's very large crude carrier (VLCC) fleet will be able to carry about 45 percent of the oil it imports in 2010, up from the less than 20 percent in 2005, a researcher with China's leading shipping firm said on Sunday.
Chinese shipping companies now operate 21 VLCCs and the number of super large carriers will increase to 43 by 2010, Kong Fanhua, a researcher with the Shipping Research Department of the China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company (Cosco), said at an oil conference in Shanghai. VLCCs can carry about 2 million barrels of oil and are widely used on international long-haul routes.
Kong said China's oil shipping capacity is estimated to grow to 21 million dead weight tonnes (dwt) in 2010 from the current 14.32 million dwt, mostly thanks to the expansion in the VLCC fleet. The nation has set an ambitious goal to raise the percentage of crude oil shipped by Chinese tankers to 50 percent by 2010 amid concern of possible supply disruptions due to the lack of its own capacity.
Currently, most of China's oil imports are carried by foreign-flagged vessels. Cosco, China's largest oil carrier, owns 6 VLCCs and has rented another four from foreign owners to ship China's oil imports, Kong said. He said the company has ordered 7 new VLCCs, without detailing when these tankers will be available for use.
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