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Welcome to the oil-rich nation of Cork.
At least four US oil ships have popped into Bantry to store barrels as the Covid-19 pandemic has seen sales plummet and vessels go into limbo.
All around the world oil ships have been sitting off shores including Cork’s as the demand for deliveries has seen a massive drop since the start of pandemic.
Keeping these ships off-shore could cost up to € 30,000 a day according to some experts while at least four US vessels, carrying 2.4 million barrels, have opted to go to Bantry.
The West Cork terminal can hold around 2 million barrels in a bay operated by Zenith Energy Management, last month’s US delivery was the spot’s first ever.
There has been a massive scramble to store the barrels which has led to the small Cork bay coming onto many ship’s radars as a diversion option.
Storage has become increasingly rare for the ships and it still looks like it will be a long time before fuel sales start to rise again.
Speaking to Bloomberg Vortexa oil analysts Syed Ahmad said the trend of diverting oil deliveries to smaller areas will continue until the demand recovers.
He said: “The last time we saw a crude import [into Bantry] was in November 2019, but that was a regional crude from the U.K., ”
“Those seeking some relief from crude deliveries will be diverting their supplies to less-known options like Bantry Bay.”
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