Record Number Of VLCCs Depart With U.S. Crude In March

Crude oil exports in March were estimated at 4.1 MMb/d — the highest monthly volume from the U.S. Gulf Coast. A record number of Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs), 46, hauled these cargoes and departed the Gulf Coast with U.S. oil during the month, up one from the previous record set in December 2022. As seen in the graph below, more VLCCs received crude barrels via reverse-lightering in March.

Though more shipments with larger volumes have been scheduled to go to Europe over the last few months, March was the first month a European country (the Netherlands) was the top destination for supertankers hauling U.S. oil. Ten VLCCs signaled the Netherlands as their destination. We also noted the most VLCCs headed to China since January 2021, reaffirming that the nation continues to be on a heavy buying spree of crude oil.
Source: RBN Energy