Diesel Cargo’s 22,000-Mile Odyssey in a Glutted Market

(Bloomberg) -- An already strange diesel market just got a little bit weirder: a cargo of the fuel appears to be undertaking the final leg of what would be roughly a 22,000-mile voyage.

Back in May, the newly built supertanker CSSC Liao Ning left South Korea hauling a consignment of diesel-like fuel west. After a double U-turn in the Indian Ocean, where it briefly appeared the carrier might head back to Singapore, the ship eventually went to the Bahamas -- roughly 17,500 miles in all.

The unusual voyage is one of several that have been observed in the diesel market since the coronavirus ravaged road-fuel demand in Europe, a vital demand center. Storage space on the continent is limited, an environment that's forced some traders to get creative.

What makes this particular shipment odder still is that part of the cargo has now been transferred onto another tanker, according to Vortexa Ltd., an analytics firm. That vessel is now sailing back across the Atlantic Ocean to Europe.

Add approximately 4,500 miles more, so 22,000 miles in all.

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