* Batam Island route follows use of Labuan, Malaysia
* Part of strategy to maximise exports to Asia-FGE
* Iran’s tankers travelling faster to boost shipments
* Iran’s oil sales under pressure, vital for economy
By Alex Lawler and Jonathan Saul
LONDON, May 9 (Reuters) – Iran is using an Indonesian port
in a strategy to keep up sales to buyers in Asia in the teeth of
Western sanctions, according to shipping data and industry
sources.
Two Iranian very large crude carriers (VLCCs) able to hold 2
million barrels each sailed to Batam Island in April, according
to AIS ship tracking on Reuters, which tracks global tanker
movements, before moving on to China.
U.S. and European sanctions aimed at pressuring Tehran’s
suspected pursuit of nuclear weapons have halved Iran’s
shipments, costing the government billions of dollars in oil
revenue, since the start of 2012.
“Iran has been using this strategy for the past few months,”
said analysts at FGE, an energy consultancy. “The strategy is
taking the crude to islands in Asia via VLCCs and selling it
from there. It’s a crucial stream of revenue for the country, so
it’s very important they sell as much as they can.”
Batam Island is just 20 km (12 miles) off the south coast of
Singapore, the continent’s oil hub. Industry sources and oil
traders said that before last year it was rare for Iranian
tankers to ship crude there.
“I think it is a staging post and crude goes from Batam to
China or whatever,” said an official with a global oil company
who declined to be named. “The Iranians can either keep the
crude there, or leave it in the ground.”
Iran has shipped oil via other islands in Asia to help
maintain exports. In September, Reuters reported Iran was
parking oil at Labuan before shipping it on to other
destinations.
“They have used Labuan in Malaysia in the past, so there is
nothing really to stop them using Batam as a base as there are
no sanctions-related drawbacks,” said a shipping industry source
familiar with Iran’s tanker fleet and its movements.
“All of this is too risky for the brokers in the West or
most ship owners, but it’s a live trade nonetheless.”
SAILING TO CHINA
The two tankers, Sonata and Courage, both belong to Iran’s
top tanker operator NITC. They have sailed on to China after
Batam, according to AIS.
NITC could not be immediately reached for comment, while an
Iranian oil official declined to comment.
Another shipping industry source said there were indications
based on ship tracking other tankers could also be involved in
movements around Batam. Three tankers – Glaros, Seagull and
Ocean Nymph – last reported their positions around the South
China Sea area close to Indonesia several days ago, but have
since not updated their positions.
The vessels were part of a fleet of eight tankers that were
bought by a Greek middle man who was sanctioned earlier this
year by Washington for operating a shipping network on behalf of
Iran.
In April, the biggest buyer of Iranian crude was China,
followed by South Korea, Japan, India, Turkey and Taiwan,
according to estimates from industry sources. All of these
buyers have cut their purchases over the last year.
Iran has reduced its oil exports to about 1.1 million
barrels per day – worth roughly $3.3 billion a month at current
prices – or about half of their rate at the start of 2012 before
tighter sanctions kicked in.
With Iran more dependent on its own tankers to move oil
because of sanctions, NITC vessels including Maharlika, Skyline
and Demos have been making high-speed journeys to China and
other Asian destinations from Iran to maxmimise flows, said a
third shipping industry source.
“The average speed of the global fleet is anywhere between 8
to 11 knots at the moment,” the source said. “But of late some
of the Iranian tankers have been making journeys around the 16
knots mark, which is even faster than at the highest point of
the market in 2008.”
(Editing by William Hardy)
