Supertankers of North Sea Crude Shipped to South Korea

A total of 18 supertankers have shipped North Sea crude to South Korea since December, according to vessel reports and ship-tracking data from IHS Inc. (IHS)

The unprecedented export flow is taking place after South Korea and the European Union signed a free-trade agreement in July 2011. The accord exempted the nation’s refineries from a 3 percent tax on imports from the EU. More than half of the North Sea oil shipped to South Korea is Forties blend, a grade used to set Dated Brent, the benchmark for more than half of the world’s crude, according to the table of ships chartered.

Details of VLCC fixtures since December are as follows. Freight costs are in millions of dollars. Hound Point, Scotland, is the loading point for Forties crude and Mongstad is the terminal for Norwegian Troll and Heidrun grades. One VLCC typically carries 2 million barrels of crude.

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Ship         Charterer    Date      Port    Destination  Freight


Alexander
 the Great       BP       Dec. 12   H. Point  Ulsan        $4
Eliza            N.A.     Dec. 21   H. Point  Yeosu        N.A.
Front Ariake*    N.A.     Jan.  9   H. Point/
                                    Mongstad  Yeosu        N.A.
Great Lady       Vitol    Jan. 15   H. Point  Kawasaki/Yeosu  $7
Front Champion   Statoil  Jan. 21   Mongstad  Ulsan        $6.1
DHT Eagle        Statoil  Feb.  16  Mongstad  Ulsan        N.A.
Front Chief      N.A.     March 13  Mongstad  Ulsan        N.A.
Ioanna           Shell    March 19  H. Point  Yeosu        $5.95
British Purpose  BP       March 29  H. Point  Ulsan        N.A.
Front Cecilie    N.A.     April 14  Mongstad  Ulsan        N.A.
Mesdar           Chevron  April 28  H. Point  Yeosu        $7.3
Atlantas         Occidental May 14  H. Point  Yeosu        $6.9
Front Tina       Statoil  May 17    H. Point/
                                    Mongstad  Ulsan        $6.3
Maersk Hirado    Statoil  May 22    Mongstad  Daesan       $6.75
Front Opalia     BP       June 22   H. Point  Ulsan        $5.5
Bunga Kasturi    Shell    July 1    H. Point  Ulsan        N.A.
Fida             Trafigura July 14  H. Point  Yeosu        $4.9
Elizabeth I.A.   Statoil  July 15   Mongstad  Ulsan        $4.85

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*Previously called Oliva.

To contact the reporter on this story: Sherry Su in London at lsu23@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stephen Voss at sev@bloomberg.net