On 16 June, the Plata Glory very large crude carrier (VLCC) berthed offshore the UAE’s Ruwais refinery. Unlike the other crude carriers that have loaded Murban crude from Ruwais this month, the tanker loaded nearly 1.3mn barrels of gasoil, according to data intelligence firm Kpler. Four days later it loaded a further 700,000 barrels of gasoil offshore Dubai, completely filling its tanks before heading towards Europe.
A ship this size usually sticks to carrying crude oil or the heavier ‘dirty’ oil products that come out of the bottom of a refinery, such as fuel oil. Using a VLCC to carry a so-called ‘clean’ product like gasoil marks an interesting shift in the global oil market. (CONTINUED - 1245 WORDS)
