A Zhoushan bunkering tanker refuels an international ship. [Photo/WeChat account: china-zjftz]

The bonded bunker oil supply in Zhoushan, East China's Zhejiang province, increased 10.22 percent year-on-year to 460,600 metric tons in January, local media reported on Feb 23.

Despite sharp fluctuations in international oil prices, an unstable economic environment, and the COVID-19 pandemic, the supply of bonded bunker oil in Zhoushan still maintained a 16.89 percent year-on-year increase in 2021 to 5.52 million tons, making it the sixth-largest bunkering port in the world.

These achievements can mainly be attributed to the following efforts.

The Zhoushan bonded bunker oil dispatch system has been updated to enable data sharing among government departments and reduce the time needed for international ships applying to refuel by eight hours.

The bonded bunker oil supply across different customs areas was well-received by international ships. In 2021, 10 bunker oil suppliers in Zhoushan have offered such a service in Ningbo, Shanghai, and Nanjing customs areas, with a total supply amount of 2.76 million tons.

Zhoushan has also gradually updated its bunkering tankers and phased out outdated tankers. In 2021, a total of 73 tankers in Zhoushan received approval to supply oil.