In Jan–Jul 2026 the four US Gulf Coast ethane terminals loaded ~670 kbd, ~99% of global seaborne ethane exports — Enterprise Morgan's Point ~290 kbd (43%), Energy Transfer Nederland ~230 kbd (35%), Enterprise Neches River ~95 kbd and Marcus Hook ~60 kbd. Demand is heavily China-concentrated: July Chinese discharges hit ~560 kbd (74% of the world); the rolling-12-month share rose to ~70% (vs. just 46% in 2022), with Satellite's Lianyungang at ~215 kbd and Wanhua's Yantai at ~100 kbd — together nearly half of global trade. Ethane's cost edge over naphtha and propane kept ethane-fed crackers highly competitive in 2026, driving Asia's feedstock lightening: Wanhua's No.1 Yantai cracker switched propane-to-ethane, and the Nangang terminal (Sinopec Tianjin ethylene, ex-Sinopec INEOS JV) feeding a 1.2 Mt/yr ethane cracker came online in Dec 2025. But risk is building at both ends. Policy: the 2025 US–China frictions briefly cut ethane exports to China (July 2025 arrivals only ~125 kbd); BIS export licensing and the tariff-pause window (extended past 10 Aug 2026) remain overhangs. Logistics: of 53 active VLECs, more than half transit the Panama Canal, which in the 2025 crisis idled nearly a quarter of the fleet. For traders, the moat in ethane trade is the 'long-term contract + dedicated VLEC + integrated receiving terminal' bundling — we advise folding vessel schedules, canal congestion and licensing into landed-cost stress tests rather than chasing spot spreads alone.