Source: Banchero Costa According to Banchero Costa, “in terms of demand, seaborne imports into the European Union (27) increased by +4.6% y-o-y to 430.5 mln t in Jan-Nov 2023, with the EU accounting for 21.7% of global seaborne crude oil imports. Volumes into China surged by +18.9% y-o-y to 469.9 mln t in JanNov 2023, with China accounting for 23.7% of global imports. Imports to India increased by +2.6% y-o-y to 209.2 mln t, accounting for 10.6% of global trade. To the USA, imports increased by +2.0% y-o-y to 124.3 mln t in JanNov 2023”. The shipbroker said that “the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is the third largest exporter of crude oil in the Middle East after Saudi Arabia and Iraq. It accounts for 6.5% of global seaborne crude oil exports. Total crude oil loadings from the UAE in the 12 months of 2022 increased by +15.3% y-o-y to 143.9 million tonnes, according to revised vessels tracking data from Refinitiv. This was to a large extent a rebound from a -10.8% y-o-y decline in 2021. Exports from the UAE have been fairly stable in recent years, remaining very robust in 2020 but taking a hit in 2021 due to Covidrelated demand disruption in Asia. In Jan-Nov 2023, the UAE exported 129.1 mln tonnes of crude, down -1.7% y-o-y from 131.4 mln t in the same period of 2022”. Source: Banchero Costa “The vast majority of UAE oil exports are shipped from Abu Dhabi Emirate, west of the Strait of Hormuz – in JanNov 2023 it was 48.0 mln tonnes from Zirku Island, 26.4 mln tonnes from Das Island, 10.5 mln tonnes from Jebel Dhanna/Ruwais, and 0.8 mln t from Mubarraz Island. About 2.4 mln tonnes were shipped from the Dubai Emirate, mostly from the Fateh terminal. The remaining third of the UAE’s exports were shipped from the coast east of the Strait of Hormuz – 37.4 mln tonnes from Fujairah, and 3.2 mln tonnes from Khor Fakkan (part of Sharjah Emirate). The vast majority of UAE crude oil exports are loaded on VLCCs. In Jan-Nov 2023, 115.8 mln tonnes were shipped on VLCCs, 10.1 mln tonnes on Suezmaxes, 3.1 mln tonnes on Aframaxes. Trade patterns for UAE crude oil exports tend to be quite long haul, with the vast majority of volumes going to Asia. Mainland China accounted for 25.7% of UAE exports in Jan-Nov 2023. Exports to China increased by +6.0% y-o-y in Jan-Nov 2023 to 33.2 mln t. About 25.0% of shipments in 2022 were sent to Japan. Exports to Japan declined by -6.9% yo-y in Jan-Nov 2023 to 32.3 mln t. Another 23.7% of shipments in JanNov 2023 were sent to the ASEAN region. These increased by +10.0% y-o-y to 30.5 mln tonnes 8.7% of exports from the UAE in JanNov 2023 were to India. Shipments to India fell sharply by -45.3% y-o-y in Jan-Nov 2023 to 11.2 mln tonnes”, Banchero Costa concluded. Nikos Roussanoglou, Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide