June 15, 2020 [The Baltic Course] – Based on information from the vessel tracking websites marinetraffic.com and myshiptracking.com, the Liberia-flagged NS Captain docked in Klaipeda late Friday night. The oil terminal’s operator Klaipedos Nafta told earlier that the vessel would bring around 77,000 tons of crude oil.

 
Belarusian state oil and petrochemicals concern Belneftekhim said in the middle of May that the first tanker with American oil would arrive in Klaipeda in early June from the Beaumont, Texas and would bring Bakken-type of crude oil.

The Belarusian Foreign Ministry says the started delivery of American oil to Belarus is part of its strategic goal to diversify energy resources and bolster its energy independence.

On May 12, this year’s seventh tanker with oil for Belarus, this time from Saudi Arabia, arrived in Klaipeda. It was the first oil cargo for Belarus from Saudi Aramco as earlier tankers delivered Norwegian and Russian oil that was then transported by rail to the Belarusian border by Lietuvos Gelezinkeliai (Lithuanian Railways).

President Alexander Lukashenko said Belarus would look for alternative sources after Russia sharply reduced pipelined oil exports to the country in early 2020.

————-