Jan 5 (Reuters) – About a dozen oil tankers loaded with Venezuelan crude and fuel have left the country’s waters since the start of the year in apparent defiance of a U.S. government embargo on exports, according to documents seen by Reuters and industry sources including monitoring service TankerTrackers.com.
US President Donald Trump imposed a mid-December embargo on all approved tankers bound for Venezuela before the dramatic capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by US forces early on Saturday. Trump said on Saturday that the oil embargo was in full force after Maduro’s ouster.
All identified departing ships are under sanctions and most are now sailing the high seas without any known flag or current ship security documents, shipping data showed. Half of those are supertankers that normally carry Venezuelan crude to China, according to shipping documents from TankerTrackers.com and PDVSA.
It was not immediately clear whether the US had sanctioned or authorized the shipment. Trump said on Saturday that Venezuela’s biggest customers, including China, would continue to receive oil.
A U.S. official told Reuters on Monday that the vessel “quarantine” was effectively focused on approved tankers, but did not elaborate on the ships that had departed.
The White House, the US State Department, state-run Venezuelan oil company PDVSA and Venezuela’s oil ministry did not respond to requests for comment.
According to the contract with PDVSA and satellite images analyzed by TankerTrackers.com, the vessels are carrying an estimated 12 million barrels of Venezuelan heavy crude and fuel oil.
It was not clear where the ships were headed. When they were loaded in December, they were mostly destined for Asia. Due to the US blockade, the ship was stuck in Venezuelan waters.
A separate group of three small empty vessels, under sanctions, left the country after completing domestic voyages or carrying imports including Russian naphtha.
At least four tankers left Venezuelan waters on Saturday after a brief stop near the country’s maritime border while passing north of Margarita Island, TankerTrackers.com said.
At least four supertankers were cleared by Venezuelan authorities to leave in dark mode, three sources with knowledge of the departure paperwork told Reuters. That means the ships operate without their satellite tracking devices, a common move for tankers in the global fleet that carry oil sanctioned around the world from Venezuela, Iran and Russia.
“We managed to get some supplies,” a PDVSA source said. “The shipment was authorized despite the risk, but we don’t think we can continue to use that route.”
PDVSA’s board of directors was expected to receive instructions and make export-related decisions at a planned meeting later Monday with Venezuela’s interim president and oil minister, Delsey Rodriguez, the person added.
CHEVRON resumes exports
Separately, US oil major Chevron recalled employees to Venezuela after a holiday and resumed exports of Venezuelan oil to the US on Monday after a four-day pause, according to shipping data and sources.
Chevron is the only company authorized by Washington to export Venezuelan crude, exempt from both sanctions and sanctions. A tanker chartered by the company is currently carrying about 300,000 barrels of heavy crude oil from Venezuela to the US Gulf Coast.
The fluidity of Chevron’s operations in Venezuela, which has emerged as PDVSA’s main joint venture partner in recent years, contrasts with the state-run company’s situation amid the country’s deep political turmoil.
PDVSA’s exports were halted last week due to the embargo, forcing it to begin production cuts over the weekend. After filling up onshore storage and loading ships with crude, the firm had almost nowhere to store oil.
According to TankerTrackers.com, there were 20 million barrels for export stuck on the ships before these departures.
Oil exports are Venezuela’s main source of revenue. The government, now led by Oil Minister and Vice President Delsey Rodriguez, needs cash from exports to finance state spending and stabilize the country.
Venezuela’s National Assembly on Monday reappointed Jorge Rodriguez as its president and his sister Delsy was formally sworn in as interim president following Maduro’s detention.
Trump told reporters on Sunday that he could order another military attack on Venezuela if officials do not cooperate with U.S. efforts to open up its oil industry and curb drug trafficking.
(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Simon Webb, David Goodman and Nia Williams)
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