Australia has resorted to importing diesel from all around the globe to meet our needs, with shipments scheduled from the UK, the US Gulf Coast, Oman and West Africa.

Shipping data shows one tanker dragging a massive cargo of diesel all the way from Southwold in the UK to Brisbane.

The vessel, traveling at about the same pace as a cyclist, will cover almost 29,000 kilometres and be at sea for 45 days before it reaches our shores on May 2.

Ordinarily, Australia imports diesel from Asian countries like South Korea and Singapore, which are much closer.

But refineries in those nations have been disrupted by the Iran war and we are now looking further afield to supply the 90 million litres per day required for freight, mining, agriculture and other crucial sectors.

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Data has also revealed a diesel shipment coming from Oman next month — the first shipment from a Gulf country to Australia since the Iran war broke out in late February.

The ship was loaded at the Omani port of Duqm, which is outside the war-impacted Strait of Hormuz.

There’s also a tanker coming from Togo, West Africa, and a steady stream of shipments from the US – five in total booked for May – as Australia increasingly leans on America for fuel.

Large shipments from South Korea, Malaysia and Singapore are scheduled this month, but an expert is questioning how much longer Asian refineries, which rely on Middle Eastern oil transiting the Strait of Hormuz, will be able to keep up the supply.

“April has ballooned to over 100 shipments, so that’s a phenomenal amount of ships arriving,” Macquarie University senior lecturer Lurion De Mello told news.com.au.

“I think it’s a testament that there are suppliers out there. But my concern is May — are we going to see the same flow of ships coming in for May?

“I think in particular, Singapore and South Korea will struggle in the month of May, and this is where our LNG-for-fuel strategy, I’m not really sure how that’s going to work.”

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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is currently pressing the flesh in Southeast Asia in a bid to secure fuel supplies.

Australia has struck a deal with Singapore ensuring continuous supply of refined fuels in exchange for Australian LNG.

It’s also received assurances from Japan and South Korea that fuel shipments will continue.

But that strategy might not pay off if Asia remains cut off from the Persian Gulf, Dr De Mello said.

He anticpated that Australia would have to rely heavily on the US for fuel next month. Currently, there is only one Asian shipment scheduled – from Singapore – with the other cargoes from the US, the UK and Oman.

At one stage, a shipment from the Netherlands was on the books, but it has since disappeared — likely cancelled or routed elsewhere.

“It takes six, seven weeks for the ships to arrive from the US, but they have very large ships, much bigger than some of the other Asian oil companies that bring fuel here,” Dr De Mello said.

He said Asian countries were improvising without their usual Middle East supply, with South Korea buying large amounts of American oil, while Singapore was buying oil from Russia and several other countries.

“We’ve probably been buying Russian oil for months without knowing it,” he said of Australia’s fuel imports.

The US has temporarily eased sanctions on Russian oil in a bid to soften the global oil shock, sparking fears the Kremlin is now receiving more funds for its invasion of Ukraine.

“A lot of Russian oil is coming into Asia. We shouldn’t be funding Russia by buying fuel. But look, we’ve got to take the fuel from wherever it is at the moment, without being too picky.”