The first condensate cargo for export is due to load in Texas at the end of this week, headed via the Panama Canal to Asia, shipping sources said. Westport Petroleum Inc., the Franklin, Tennessee-based shipping arm of Japanese trader Mitsui & Co., chartered the BW Zambesi, an LR1 tanker, also known as a Panamax class vessel. Reuters previously reported that Mitsui had bought a 400,000-barrel cargo, and is said to be being marketed to refiners in Asia. According to a Reuters shipping database, the BW Zambesi has capacity of more than 76,000 deadweight tons (DWT). Shipping sources said the BW Zambesi will likely carry less than its maximum capacity, due to draft restrictions in the Panama Canal. The $1.8 million one-way trans-Pacific trip is expected to take a month or more, sources said.
