For example, the STI Solace oil tanker, about 250m long, is moving through West Africa, carrying diesel oil.
After unloading goods from the United Kingdom in the second half of March, this oil tanker has completed about 1/3 of its journey of more than 19,000km to Australia, according to tracking data from Energy Aspects and Signal Ocean.
The most notable point of this shipment lies in the direction of movement: Europe usually imports diesel instead of exporting. It seems that the volatile diesel price in Asia makes transporting fuel tens of thousands of kilometers still profitable.
The current market is really chaotic. Europe is still lacking diesel, but the situation in Asia is much more serious, to the point where prices there are pulling supply from half the Earth" - Mr. Philip Jones-Lux, senior oil analyst at energy analysis company Sparta Commodities, said.
Conflicts in the Middle East are disrupting the global oil supply chain, causing the market to lose millions of barrels of crude oil and refined products such as diesel. Disruptions due to the closed Hormuz Strait as well as reduced oil refining capacity in some areas. The International Energy Agency (IEA) called this the largest supply shock ever recorded.
The consequence is a global "barre-toothed" for fuel, as traders race to find supplies. Trade flow in March has begun to reflect the rapid pace of market correction after the conflict broke out at the end of February. The longer the Hormuz Strait closes, the fiercer the competition will be. Traders warn that Europe is at risk of a diesel shortage in the coming weeks.
Australia is one of the most heavily affected places. The stockpiling situation, especially in rural areas, has pushed demand to skyrocket and caused some gas stations to run out of fuel.
However, STI Solace is not the only ship heading to this area. Many other oil tankers, including Largo Eagle, CL Zhaoge and Hansa Sealancer, have recently loaded refined products in the US, passing through the Panama Canal and on their way to Australia. Some other ships from the US West Coast are also on their way or preparing to depart.
These ships transport many types of refined fuels, including gasoline and diesel. If all dock at Australian ports, March will record the largest export volume on this route since 2015, according to Vortexa data.
Usually, the journey from the east coast of England to Sydney lasts less than 40 days, according to Signal Ocean data.
Not only Australia, some regions in Asia are also attracting unusual long-distance freight trains as fuel prices here are skyrocketing compared to other regions.
The Clearocean Marauder is transporting diesel from the West Coast of the United States to Singapore - a route never used for this type of cargo since the end of 2024, according to Kpler data.
Another ship, Metro Mistral, is en route to Pakistan after taking gasoline from Europe. If the cargo docks, gasoline exports from Europe to Pakistan in March will reach the highest level since 2023.
