China's state shippers deploy oil tankers outside Gulf, avoid chokepoints, sources say - reuters.com
China's state shippers deploy oil tankers outside Gulf, avoid chokepoints, sources say - reuters.com
Source: reuters.com
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DW NOTE
China's state-owned shipping companies are repositioning oil tankers outside the Persian Gulf to bypass the closed Strait of Hormuz — a logistical reconfiguration that amounts to writing off 20% of global oil transit capacity. When a chokepoint that handles 21 million barrels per day shuts for six months, you don't wait for diplomacy; you redraw the map. Beijing is now sourcing more crude from West Africa and the Americas, routes that add 10-15 days to delivery and require tankers that were previously deployed elsewhere, which means higher freight costs, longer capital cycles, and tighter global vessel availability for everyone else.