By Jonathan Saul

ATHENS, June 6 (Reuters) – Moves by China to stockpile oil are offering an extra enhance to the tanker transport market which is already buoyant as a consequence of international bargain-hunting attributable to decrease crude costs, shipowners mentioned on Monday.

Rates for supertankers transporting 2-million-barrel cargoes of crude surged to document highs in late December of over $110,000 a day and have stayed near $60,000 a day in current weeks, helped by agency urge for food for cargoes and a good provide of ships accessible for rent.

China is anticipated so as to add 70-90 million barrels to its strategic crude oil purchases in 2016 because it takes benefit of low costs, a Reuters survey has proven.

“China still represents good value  and should supply a lot of additional demand,” Paddy Rodgers, chief government of tanker proprietor Euronav, informed a Capital Link transport convention in Athens.

“The need for an SPR (strategic petroleum reserves) – essentially there is a real concern about what happens if there is a short-term shock and there is a no spare Saudi Arabian capacity to meet it. That is the big issue. People are going to take security of supply seriously.”

China is the world’s second-biggest crude importer, importing 32.58 million tonnes (or round 8 million barrels per day) and difficult the United States for high spot.

Last week OPEC didn’t agree a transparent oil output technique as Iran insisted on steeply elevating its personal manufacturing, although Tehran’s arch-rival Saudi Arabia promised to not flood the market and sought to fix fences throughout the organisation.

“The fall in the price of oil has helped tanker demand and has helped tanker earnings significantly,” mentioned George Saroglou, chief working officer with Tsakos Energy Navigation.

“This OPEC overproduction has helped. You had more demand coming out and also you had more demand to store the cheap oil.”

Saroglou mentioned within the first quarter of this yr demand for tankers to move crude was increased “than the historical average”. “Demand is on the rise this year,” he added.

Other tanker gamers mentioned there was wider urge for food for oil in different elements of Asia together with India and Indonesia, which was additionally set to bolster tanker earnings.

“Demand in the East is going to go very well and has an upside,” Vassilis Kertsikoff, vice chairman with Eletson Holdings, informed the convention.

“I don’t see many clouds and (tanker) supply is fairly okay.” (Reporting by Jonathan Saul; modifying by Adrian Croft)

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2016.