By Jeslyn Lerh
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The Singapore trading arm of U.S.-based refiner Phillips 66 has recently leased a new floating storage vessel along the Singapore and Malacca Straits for storing fuel oil, market sources told Reuters.
The 300,000 metric-tons capacity Southern Emperor is the latest addition to 19 existing fuel oil floating storage vessels along the Straits chartered by various market participants, said sources.
So far, Phillips 66 has been partially renting the EM Splendour for fuel oil storage.
The Singapore and Malacca Straits are a key location for fuel oil storage in Asia, with traders building inventories of the fuel around the world’s largest bunkering port of Singapore.
Total volume of fuel oil in floating storage on the Straits is estimated at over 2.6 million tons, based on data from shipping analytics firm Kpler this month.
The number of tankers used for storing fuel oil on the Straits is expected to hold largely stable into this year, market sources said.
(Reporting by Jeslyn Lerh; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)
