China to build fleet of supertankers to cope with oil demand
China has begun an ambitious effort to build a fleet of more than 90 supertankers to improve its control over oil imports, the International Herald Tribune reported Wednesday.
According to shipping industry experts, 'government strategic planners in Beijing have set a target that half of the oil imports should be carried on Chinese-owned tankers,' the article said. 'No deadline has been set to meet this goal, but Chinese shipping companies are expected to order as many as 65 supertankers, worth an estimated $7.1 billion, by 2012, according to transport analysts.'
China imports almost half its crude, the newspaper reported, with about 90 percent of these imports coming by sea.
'But Chinese-owned tankers deliver less than 20 percent of this, according to reports in the official state media,' the article said. 'Japan, which is totally reliant on imported oil, ships up to 90 percent of its crude in Japanese-registered supertankers.'
China to build fleet of supertankers to cope with oil demand
