Company: ASC
Filing Date: 2025-03-07
Form Type: 20-F
Source: 0001558370-25-002500
Chunk: 55

Company: Ardmore Shipping Corp
Filing Date: 2025-03-07
Form: 20-F
Item: Item 4
Chunk 55
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 Asia and Latin America. Firm demand for vegoils from India and China strengthened the chemical tanker trade.

Between 2018 and 2021, seaborne trade fell at an annual rate of 4.2% for crude oil and 1.8% for oil products, whereas it grew at an annual rate of 1.7% for chemicals. The outbreak of COVID-19 severely affected the demand for crude oil and refined petroleum products in 2020 as several major economies enforced lockdowns to contain the spread of the virus and mitigate the damage caused by the pandemic.

As a result of the growth in trade and changes in the location of refinery capacity, demand for product tankers expressed in tonne-miles grew at a CAGR of 2.8% between 2010 and 2019. However, tonne-mile demand declined by 8.9% in 2020 on account of restrictions imposed by several major economies to contain the spread of COVID-19.

Product tanker tonne-mile demand has grown steadily in recent years (2021-24), driven by shifting trade patterns, rising oil demand, and geopolitical disruptions. The Russia-Ukraine conflict and the EU's refined product embargo led to an increase in long-haul trade between Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, boosting demand for product tankers. Additionally, disruptions in the Red Sea have forced many Europe-bound tankers to reroute around the Cape of Good Hope, significantly extending voyage distances and further increasing tonne-mile demand. Compared to crude oil trade, product tanker demand tends to be more stable and less volatile, supported by consistent growth in refined product shipments.

World Seaborne Tanker Trade Volumes

                Crude Oil                   Oil Products                      Chemicals             Total       Global  
                                                                                                                   GDP  
                                                                                                                 (IMF)  
   Year      Million tons      % y-o-y      Million tons      % y-o-y      Million tons      Million tons      % y-o-y  
 ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
   2014             1,904        -0.9%               914         1.1%               252             3,070         3.6%  
   2015             1,974         3.7%               963         5.3%               266             3,202         3.5%  
   2016             2,060         4.4