A steady stream of jet fuel tankers continued to arrive in Europe throughout more than three months of Covid-19 lockdowns, filling up regional tanks and causing a backlog of ships to act as floating storage. A leading jet fuel trader tells Energy Intelligence that tankers holding more than 2 million metric tons of jet fuel were being held at anchor last week, mainly offshore the UK’s southern coast as well as in Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) anchorage (JFI Apr.6’20). Ships include Swiss trader Vitol’s newly built very large crude carrier (VLCC) Elandra Denali sitting in the UK’s Lyme Bay and two of the largest class of product tankers, Suezmax-sized LR3s-Royal Dutch Shell’s Aldana parked nearby, and Vitol’s Resilient Warrior in Rotterdam anchorage. Also listed at anchor in Lyme Bay was Vitol’s cleanbu vessel Baru, although the jet onboard was ostensibly sold to European major BP into Rotterdam in Monday’s trading window (relat-ed). Refinery run cuts may have curbed global jet production, with unwanted fuel also blended into diesel, but the fall in output is nothing compared to the collapse in airline demand.
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