Very large crude carriers hauling 2 million-barrel cargoes are waiting as long as 10 days to discharge, compared with two normally, Ody Valatsas, chartering manager of Dynacom Tankers Management Ltd., an Athens-based owner of 11 of the vessels, said by e-mail today. The increase took place in the past two months, he said. Delays are nine days, compared with about two usually, according to Nikos Varvaropoulos, an official at Athens-based Optima Shipbrokers Ltd.
China, which aims to more than double its reserve capacity, imported a record 23.5 million metric tons of crude a month in the first quarter, customs data show. Purchases from Venezuela more than doubled from a year earlier and deliveries from Angola climbed 25 percent. Its imports from Iran slumped to the lowest level since 2010. Read More
