China will remain one of the main driving forces behind increasing tanker demand despite talk of its market influence waning, analysts believe.

Beijing’s role will continue to grow in the crude and clean tanker sectors, according to Alphatanker.

China’s crude imports have taken a breather in recent months but were still an “impressive” 470,000 barrels per day (bpd) higher in the first half of 2018, compared with a year earlier.