ROTTERDAM, August 29 -- You ever wondered where the oil for North Korea is coming from? Here is part on an overview of the routes and suppliers. Recently, the majority of North Korea’s tankers have been visiting Russia’s Slavayanka terminal, which is operated by Vladivostok based GroupTranzit. Built in 1994, the Vostokbunker terminal is now the largest in the region, with an on-site Customs office dealing with import-export paperwork. Located just 100km from the DPRK’s border, this facility further trims delivery times for North Korea’s fleet. GroupTranzit ‘s website describes state-owned Rosneft and Gazpromneft as partners. According to a 2012 press release, the company operating the terminal signed an oil products agreement with Chinese company Huayuan Shitun. RETURN JOURNEY Satellite tracking shows most deliveries making their way to the North Korean city of Chongjin, though occasionally the DPRK’s tankers take the much longer route round to Nampho, where the country’s primary storage facilities are located. Additional delivery points along North Korea’s eastern coast are also possible, although these can be difficult to locate. Analysis of satellite imagery shows what could be storage terminals at Songbong, Rajin and Hungnam. “There are dozens of underground POL (Petroleum, Oil and Lubricants) storage areas in the DPRK. Some are easier to spot than others,” Curtis Melvin, a researcher at the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins SAIS told us. CRUDE CUSTOMER Long considered to be North Korea’s primary oil supplier and diplomatic patron, China shipped roughly 500,000 tons of crude oil a year to the DRPK, according to historical trade statistics. However, when these same statistics stopped reporting crude deliveries in January, the news sparked a flurry of speculation about a possible castigatory cut-off in supplies. “With China still not reporting deliveries of crude, there’s a great amount of interest in the situation over a potential cut off,” a London-based diplomatic source told De Peet Journal. “If they really stopped deliveries, how long can the DPRK survive without Chinese oil?” However, despite the rumours, De Peet Journal has tracked one of the DPRK’s crude oil tankers moving repeatedly between China’s massive Dalian oil terminal and its home port of Nampho. Called the Nam San 8, the vessel is a purpose crude oil tanker capable of potentially moving up to 12,000 tons of oil a month between the two ports. Although its coverage is spotty, the Nam San 8 has made at least two trips between Nampho and Dalian from July 5 to July 23 – the tanker also disappeared off tracking systems for 11 during that period. However, the tanker can be seen docked at the Dalian’s oil terminal on July 7 and July 23.
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