Media contributions
1Media contributions
Title US ships ‘coming to our rescue’ in fuel crisis Degree of recognition National Media name/outlet news.com.au Media type Web Country/Territory Australia Date 25/03/26 Description This article reports, on the basis of London Stock Exchange Group vessel-tracking analysis supplied by Dr Lurion De Mello, that three large United States cargoes of petrol and diesel were en route to Australian ports — carrying more than 343,000 barrels of petrol bound for Sydney and close to 600,000 barrels of diesel for Newcastle and Melbourne. He characterises the routing as highly unusual, noting the absence of comparable US refined product shipments in recent years, and identifies it as evidence of supply diversification rather than a government-to-government arrangement. The analysis further documents a sharp contraction in scheduled cargoes for April relative to March, the complete absence of Chinese shipments following Beijing's export ban, acute scarcity in scheduled jet fuel arrivals, and South Korean dominance of both the petrol and diesel schedules. He argues that vessel-level data provides a more reliable picture than the government's days-of-cover framework and calls for greater federal transparency about actual volumes held. The piece sets this against ministerial statements on cancelled and replaced cargoes, Japanese ambassadorial comments on potential assistance, proposals to withhold LNG exports as negotiating leverage, and evidence of domestic disruption including approximately 560 service stations missing at least one fuel grade, construction sector surcharges, waste collection warnings and trans-Tasman flight cancellations. Producer/Author Harrison Christian URL https://www.news.com.au/finance/economy/australian-economy/us-ships-coming-to-our-rescue-in-fuel-crisis/news-story/4a9ec75339ccdfac09585c2408ab7566 Persons Lurion De Mello