China Steps Up Inspections On Old Oil Tankers

As the number of old oil tankers shipping Russian oil has soared, Chinese authorities in the Shandong province have increased the safety checks on old vessels arriving at the major oil import port of Qingdao, holding ships more than 20 years old at the port for weeks. At least two old oil tankers, including one from Russia, spent nearly a month at the port of Qingdao, waiting to be inspected more thoroughly, Bloomberg reported on Friday, quoting sources familiar with the checks and a database of inspections in the Asia Pacific.

Last year, an unusually…