Jan 5 (Reuters) – About a dozen tankers loaded with Venezuelan crude and fuel departed in recent days from the country’s waters in dark mode, seemingly breaking a strict blockade imposed by the U.S. amid intense pressure that mounted until the capture of deposed President Nicolas Maduro, monitoring service TankerTrackers.com said.
All the identified departed vessels are under U.S. sanctions. A separate group of ships, also under sanctions, left the country in recent days empty after discharging imports or completing domestic transportation trips.
The departures could be a relief for Venezuela’s state-run oil company PDVSA, which had accumulated a very large inventory of floating storage amid the U.S. blockade, begun last month, dragging the country’s oil exports to a standstill.
Oil exports are Venezuela’s main source of revenue. An interim government now led by oil minister and vice president Delcy Rodriguez will need the income to finance spending and secure domestic stability in the country.
At least four of the departed tankers left Venezuelan waters through a route north of Margarita Island after briefly stopping near the country’s maritime border, TankerTrackers.com said, after identifying the vessels is satellite images.
A source with knowledge of the departures’ paperwork told Reuters that at least four supertankers had been cleared by Venezuelan authorities in recent days to leave Venezuelan waters in dark mode.
It was not immediately clear if the departures happened in defiance of the U.S. measures. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that an “oil embargo” on Venezuela was in full force, but added that under an incoming transition Venezuela’s largest customers, including China, would keep receiving oil.
(Reporting by Reuters)
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