Shipping companies should avoid crew changes for at least three days after Sunday’s presidential vote in Venezuela, amid fears of violence if Nicolas Maduro fails in his latest re-election bid, according to a circular from NorthStandard.
Maduro has warned that the country would “fall into a bloodbath” if he loses the vote but is trailing in the polls to retired diplomat Edmundo Gonzalez.
Protection and indemnity correspondent Vene P&I said strict security measures were in place at all Venezuelan ports in the event of any post-election conflict.
Vene recommends crew changes are avoided in the days up to Sunday’s vote and for three days afterwards.
Crews in Venezuela on voting day should remain within port facilities, it said.
Results could be announced late Sunday or in the days afterwards.
Gonzalez has said that he trusts that the military will respect the election result, having long supported Maduro. He has been in power since 2013 and is seeking his third six-year term.
Millions of people have left the country because of the ailing economy hit by US sanctions on oil exports.
The sanctions were briefly lifted following an agreement struck to allow free and fair elections but were reimposed in April after a crackdown on the opposition.
That prompted tankers to exit Venezuela but did not hit markets hard, owing to declining production after years of neglect.
The White House on Thursday expressed concerns about the possibility of violence. The 2018 election was widely regarded as a sham and the US recognised then-opposition leader Juan Guaido as the president.
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