Strong demand for iron ore, coal and crude in China is driving up demand for ships and growing the dry bulk shipping and tankers sector, according to a new report by the Baltic and International Maritime Council (Bimco).
“Not only is China repeatedly importing larger volumes, it is also sourcing most of its imported iron ore from seaborne exporters, with more than 98% of the imports arriving by sea,” said Bimco chief shipping analyst, Peter Sand.
He added that while China was importing larger volumes of coal, it was also replacing coal purchases via land with seaborne tons.
China’s iron ore seaborne imports grew by 4.7% to a record 1.054 billion metric tonnes – with 4% of these imports coming from South Africa – and coal dry bulk shipments rose by 12% to 228.5 million metric tonnes by sea in 2017.
Around 84% of the country’s coal imports are now seaborne, up from 80% in 2016.
In 2017, China imported 10% more seaborne crude compared to the previous year, growing to 7.8 million barrels per day compared with the 7.1 million barrels per day imported in 2016.
Sand said that China’s imports would play a crucial role in building demand for tankers.
“The trend of rising demand for tankers will continue in 2018 due to the growing crude exports from the US and rising imports from the Far East - and this will benefit the VLCC segment significantly,” he added.
