Asia/Pacific News
China: Bunkering Suspended, No Re-Open Date Set for Closed Fuel Oil Terminals at Tianjin
All fuel oil terminals at Tianjin port in China have been closed following last Wednesday's chemical explosions, with little information on when they will re-open, Lloyd's List reports.
It is understood by Ship & Bunker that bunkering operations have also been suspended.
According to shipping agents Inchcape Shipping Services, there is no schedule for berthing vessels, though general and bulk cargo operations remain unaffected.
Shipping agents GAC also reportedly advised companies to contact insurers for more information.
"Sailings in/out of Tianjin will definitely be affected and heavily delayed," the company said.
"At this point, it is not possible to evaluate the degree of damage suffered by containers and cargo at the port's terminals."
Oil and gas facilities, including ones operated by Sinopec Corp and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), were reportedly unaffected.
"It's a massive disaster that seemed to concentrate in the container port part of the much larger Tianjin port, but fortunately the larger oil and gas facilities are not close by," according to an unnamed trader.
The blast reportedly originated from a nearby container port warehouse owned by Tianjin Dongjiang Port Rui Hai International Logistics, and was caused by flammable goods.
Separate reports say that roughly 50 were killed and 700 were injured from the blast, 71 if which are in critical condition.
Last week, it was reported that the explosions were so large that they sent shockwaves several kilometres away.
