Zhong Da You 235, an oil tanker of the Sinopec Zhejiang Zhoushan Petroleum Co moves towards the Dong Tai Bao Ze vessel in order to refuel it with 150 tons of bonded bunker fuel at the Mazhi Anchorage of Zhoushan on Aug 14. [Photo/zj.zjol.com]

Bonded bunker fuel has taken over from ship as the leading commodity of Zhoushan's exports, with its total export value reaching 12.28 billion yuan ($1.79 billion) during January and October, up 83.2 percent year-on-year and accounting for 37.78 percent of the city's total exports in the same period, statistics from Zhoushan Customs show. 

In 2017, the top three commodities of the city's exports were ship, bonded bunker fuel and aquatic and marine products, together taking up 69 percent of the city's total exports. Among them, bonded bunker fuel exports were valued at 9.15 billion yuan, up 53.3 percent from a year earlier. 

The rapid growth in bonded fuel exports can be largely attributed to the city's reforms and innovative measures in the bunkering business, which led to a sharp increase in the city's bonded fuel supply. 

The bonded bunker fuel supply in Zhoushan reached nearly 3 million metric tons during January and October, up 118.2 percent over the same period last year, according to the administrative committee of the Zhoushan Port Free Trade Zone. 

"As the bunkering improves in the city's ports, plus the fact that there has been a release of favorable policies in the China (Zhejiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone such as customs clearance facilitation, more and more vessel owners are choosing to refuel ships in Zhoushan," said Wang Jiao, manager of the bonded fuel department at the Sinopec Zhejiang Zhoushan Petroleum Co. 

The company's bonded fuel sales reached 1.1 million tons in the first ten months of 2018, 0.4 million tons more than last year and accounting for one thirds of Sinopec's total sales in the country during the period, said Wang.

Industry insiders predict that the total bonded bunker fuel supply in China will climb to 11.3 million tons this year, and that from Zhoushan is expected to take up 30 percent.