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Sanctioned tanker with mechanical issues transferred part of its cargo

The U.S.-sanctioned Venezuela-owned 'Maximo Gorki' that had mechanical problems since January transferred crude oil on Feb. 19, 2022, onto the 'Dream Vision' (IMO: 9270517) in a trans-shipment operation east of Singapore in the Riau archipelago. The tanker had left Venezuela in Nov 2021 amid an export push designed to generate funds for cash-strapped state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), which has been under U.S. trading sanctions since 2019. The ship, however, could not complete its cargo delivery to an undisclosed customer under a CIF arrangement on time after delays caused by mechanical problems, forcing PDVSA to replace its crew and look for new vessels able to receive the transferred cargo at sea. U.S. authorities have been tracking the tanker, as they do with all sanctioned vessels, and was aware it was in trouble and seeking to transfer its cargo. The VLCC was reported near Singapore in late January after crossing Indonesia’s Lombok Strait. It then switched its transponder off. The tanker twice failed ship-to-ship transfers, delaying the offloading of its Merey 16 crude cargo. It was unclear if there were plans to transfer another share of its cargo before returning to Venezuela. The 'Dream Vision' arrived in Port Klang on Feb 21.

Six tankers on sanction list

The United Stateshave imposed sanctions against six more tankers trying to break the embargo on oil transportation to and from Venezuela that the country has imposed, four with connections to Ukraine, one with Russia and one Venezuelan. Three of the ships - the 'Balita', 'Domani' and 'Freedom' - are operated by Fides Ship Management in Ukraine. A fourth, the 'Legacy', was operated by Fides Ship Management for a period in 2020 before being taken over by Panthea Marine and is now operated by the Russian company Berylicious. The other two were the 'Maxim Gorki', which is under the management of Transocean Shipping in Moscow, but owned by Venezuelan Govt INEA, and the 'Sierra' operated by Rustanker.