China’s oil-tanker construction falls behind rising oil imports

The rate of construction of oil tankers for Chinese shipping lines is falling behind the rate of increase in oil imports, which may pose a threat to the country’s energy security, a China Ocean Shipping (Group) Co (COSCO) official said.

The manager of the COSCO group shipping research department, Kong Fanhua, told a forum here that only 20 pct of China’s seaborne oil imports had been carried by Chinese shipping lines last year.
Kong said China’s tanker fleet did not meet the country’s needs, and that more ships were needed.

‘China’s oil-tanker building has been slow due to high construction costs,’ Kong said.

Forbes