U.S.-sanctioned oil tanker stuck in Indonesia carries Venezuelan fuel
10/11/2022 01:21
(Repeats story that ran earlier, with no change to text)
By Marianna Parraga
HOUSTON, Nov 9 (Reuters) - A grounded oil supertanker
under U.S. Treasury Department sanctions being refloated in
Indonesia is filled with Venezuelan fuel, according to vessel
monitoring services.
Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control last week
imposed sanctions on the stranded tanker, Young Yong, for its
part in an international oil smuggling network that Washington
said supports Hezbollah and Iran's Quds Force.
Last month, the Djibouti-flagged Young Yong received cargoes
through ship-to-ship operations from U.S.-blacklisted tanker
Silvia I and from the Eagle Brenda before becoming marooned off
Indonesia's Riau Islands, according to research by
non-government organization United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI).
Both tankers had departed between late July and early August
carrying fuel oil supplied by Venezuela's state-run oil firm
PDVSA, according to internal company documents seen by Reuters
and TankerTrackers.com, which confirmed the vessels' identities.
The Iran-flagged Silvia I, owned by state firm National
Iranian Tanker Company (NITC), carried about 1 million barrels
of fuel oil chartered by Iran's Naftiran Intertrade Company as
payment for Iranian crude imported by PDVSA this year.
The Panama-flagged Eagle Brenda, identified on PDVSA
shipping schedules as "Eagle I," also carried some 1 million
barrels of Venezuelan fuel oil, the documents showed. By
reviewing satellite photos, TankerTrackers.com spotted the ship
receiving the fuel in Venezuelan waters between March and April.
The sanctions on the Young Yong and its owner, Hong
Kong-based Technology Bright International, led to the loss of
its Djibouti Maritime Authority flag last week and the
cancellation of a classification by the American Bureau of
Shipping that certified it was seaworthy, according to
communications provided by UANI.
The U.S. embassy in Singapore said on Wednesday the United
States has allowed some transactions in efforts to free the
supertanker, which ran aground last month in the Singapore
Strait near a key gas line.
The Young Yong was blacklisted by Washington along with
tankers Adisa, B Luminosa, Bluefins, Boceanica, Bueno, Julia A,
Lara I, Nolan, Rain Drop and Zephyr, most of which have recently
been in Venezuela, according to documents and shipping data.
"The individuals running this illicit network use a web of
shell companies and fraudulent tactics including document
falsification," said the U.S. Under Secretary for Terrorism and
Financial Intelligence, Brian Nelson, in a release last week.
The Treasury Department did not immediately reply to a
request for details.
PDVSA, Venezuela's oil ministry, Iran's oil ministry,
NITC and India-based Sygnius Ship Management, which according to
shipping databases bought the Eagle Brenda last year, did not
immediately reply to requests for comment. Technology Bright
International could not be reached for comment.
Carrying Venezuelan-origin cargoes is not new for the Young
Yong. The tanker was in Venezuelan waters at least twice since
last year, where it loaded Venezuelan crude and fuel for
exports, according to PDVSA's schedules and TankerTrackers.com.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
U.S. allows transactions to free sanctioned oil tanker stranded
in Indonesia urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N3250JG
Oil supertanker grounded in Indonesia will take a month to free
- navy urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N3232F5
U.S. imposes sanctions on oil smuggling network backing Iran's
Quds Force, Hezbollah urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N31Z1YR
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
(Reporting by Marianna Parraga in Houston; Additional reporting
by Timothy Gardner in Washington and Bozorgmehr Sharafedin in
London; Editing by David Gregorio)
((marianna.parraga@thomsonreuters.com; +1 713 371 7559; Reuters
Messaging: @mariannaparraga))