NEW YORK: In June, the US imposed sanctions on half a dozen oil tankers managed by established shipping firms. It was a major escalation of American attempts to choke off Venezuela’s oil trade.
The role of the three companies in transporting Venezuelan oil underscores how a raft of little-known entities has filled the void as Washington has sought to deter established buyers and shipping companies from facilitating the South American country’s crude exports.Hitherto unknown companies surfaced this year as major buyers of Venezuelan crude, Reuters reported in November. Most of those buyers were registered this year by a Moscow-based trading firm.
The UAE government said in a statement that “a thorough and comprehensive investigation is fully underway into” Muhit Maritime, Issa Shipping and Asia Charm. That includes using recent legislative changes “designed to improve corporate transparency through a framework for reporting and registering beneficial ownership,” it said.
Venezuela’s Information Ministry didn’t respond to a request for comment. The country’s oil ministry, its embassy in the UAE and state oil company PDVSA also didn’t respond. Then, in June, Washington sanctioned the vessels that it accused of transporting Venezuelan oil and their registered owners. Among the vessels the US Treasury sanctioned in June was an oil tanker called Euroforce, then managed by Greece-based ship operator Eurotankers Inc. The Treasury later lifted the sanctions on the vessels.
The registered owners of the three ships also changed in July and August, Equasis shows. Two of the vessels’ registered owners list their addresses only as “Care of Muhit Maritime.” The third lists an entity in Monrovia, Liberia. None of the owners could be reached for comment.The three tankers also got new names this summer, according to Equasis - the Alsatayir, Almada and Alasfal.
The Alsatayir’s cargo was received by a tanker named the Afra Royal, according to the data and Emma Li, a Singapore-based analyst at Refinitiv. The Afra Royal proceeded to China's Qingdao port, where it offloaded 644,715 barrels on Nov 5, Refinitiv Eikon data show. The ship’s listed owners and managers didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Issa took over management of three very large crude carriers from Greece-based Altomare SA between January and May of this year, according to Equasis. Altomare didn’t respond to a request for comment. Asia Charm, meanwhile, took over management of a tanker from Finland's Lundqvist Rederierna AB in July 2019, according to Equasis.