OFAC's list of PDVSA-owned ships

AMAPOLA 1

AMUAY

BICENTENARIO I

BICENTENARIO II

BICENTENARIO III

BICENTENARIO IV

BICENTENARIO V

BICENTENARIO VI

BICENTENARIO VII

BICENTENARIO VIII

BICENTENARIO IX

BICENTENARIO X

BICENTENARIO XI

BICENTENARIO XII

BICENTENARIO XIII

BICENTENARIO XIV

BICENTENARIO XV

BICENTENARIO XVI

CARIBE

CAYAURIMA

CUMANAGOTO

GARDENIA

GP-21

GP-23

JAZMIN

L-409

MANAURE

MARA

MARGARITA 1

PDVSA CARDON

SABANETA

TRIBILIN

URDANETA

YORACO

The US has blacklisted a Greek tanker and its owner and operator for alleged links to Venezuela's oil sector.

The US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated the 72,000-dwt Despina Andrianna (built 2000) as "blocked property" for delivering crude oil from Venezuela to Cuba during February and March of 2019.

The agency also blacklisted Ballito Bay Shipping of Liberia, as the registered owner of the vessel, and Piraeus-based ProPer In Management as the operator.

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AIS data shows the vessel heading from Cuba to Venezuela's Jose Terminal on Monday.

ProPer In told TradeWinds: "We are very surprised and have sought urgent legal advice.

"From our preliminary urgent review, it appears that the sanction posting is not applicable to neither the vessel, her owning company and management company."

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OFAC retorted: "The US continues to take strong action against the illegitimate regime of former President Nicolas Maduro, not only to isolate corrupt Venezuelan enterprises, but also to target Maduro’s supporters in Havana who continue to enable the oppression of the people of Venezuela."

OFAC said Cuba is a major importer of crude oil from Venezuela and, in return, sends assistance to Venezuela in the form of political advisors, intelligence and military officials, and medical professionals, all of whom are used to ensure Maduro’s hold on power and complete social control over the people of Venezuela.

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said: “Cuba continues to profit from, and prop up, the illegitimate Maduro regime through oil-for-repression schemes as they attempt to keep Maduro in power.”

OFAC has also identified 34 vessels as blocked property of Venezuelan oil company PDVSA, which was placed on the sanctions list on 28 January.