MIAMI.– At least 48 ships of oil and with irregular operations they remained for weeks without docking, or declaring formal operations, on the coasts of Venezuela last October, the NGO Transparencia Venezuela warned from exile in a report released this Saturday.
The persistent presence of the vessels, in an opaque manner, would indicate discharges clandestine of crude oil (STS, ship-to-ship), according to the report that also indicates that the irregular operations were carried out despite the sanctions the Venezuelan PDVSA and the deployment of US military forces in the Caribbean against drug trafficking cartels that they attribute to the Venezuelan regime.
Transparency Venezuela, which works from exile due to the persecution of Maduro’s agents, periodically monitors illicit activities involving the country’s assets.
Last September, the NGO revealed in a report that of some 47 “flags of convenience” tankers operating irregularly on the Venezuelan coast, at least 12 were sanctioned by the US OFAC, the UK OFSI and the European Union, it was reported.
Among the vessels sighted by monitoring and classified as “poachers”, the Xanthos Eos, flagged by Curacao, were mentioned; and the Samira, of Russian origin.
Oil despite sanctions
According to satellite monitoring, of the total number of vessels, 38 remained on the coasts of Venezuela for more than 20 days, without touching port, and with flags of convenience of Panama, the African Comoros Islands, and Malta, the October report indicated.
He especially mentioned the PHENIX VI and APUS tankers, with sanctions from the US and the United Kingdom.
He noted that the APUS supertanker was seen sailing between the Venezuelan refineries of Amuay, in the western state of Falcón, and the José Antonio Anzoátegui Petrochemical Complex, with the refinery in Puerto La Cruz, in the east of the country.
Both tankers carried out “circular movements” in areas identified for illegal transshipment operations, he indicated.
This week, Anzoátegui authorities reported the spread of sulfur dioxide gas that came from a fire in the petrochemical complex that has affected the population and forced the closure of activities, as reported.
According to reports, the NGO also stated in its report that the United Arab Emirates had 16 tankers operating in October. The company Asia Charm Ltd FZE, based in that country, operated 12 of the 71 registered international vessels.
