The US has designated two more tankers as "blocked property" after they allegedly made trips from Venezuela to Cuba.
The treasury department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said the two vessels transported oil to the Caribbean country.
It designated shipowner Monsoon Navigation Corporation of Majuro, Marshall Islands, and its 106,000-dwt aframax Ocean Elegance (built 1994), alleging it delivered crude oil from Venezuela to Cuba from late 2018 through March 2019.
And it also designated Serenity Maritime Limited of Monrovia, Liberia, and its 40,000-dwt Leon Dias (built 2008) for alleged deliveries over the same period.
Ocean Elegance was renamed Oceano last month. It is now under new management and ownership by Fainan Investments of Panama.
Leon Dias is managed by Leon Shipping & Trading of Greece, which has been contacted for comment.
OFAC’s regulations generally prohibit all dealings by US persons or within (or transiting) the US that involve any property or interests in property of blocked or designated persons.
“Treasury’s action today puts Venezuela’s military and intelligence services, as well as those who support them, on notice that their continued backing of the illegitimate Maduro regime will be met with serious consequences,” said treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin.
“The US will take further action if Cuba continues to receive Venezuelan oil in exchange for military support. As we have repeatedly said, the path to sanctions relief for those who have been sanctioned is to take concrete and meaningful actions to restore democratic order.”
Other owners targeted
Italian owner PB Tankers was hit by similar sanctions last month.
It said: "PB Tankers does not have any ships in Venezuela, nor will be trading into or out of Venezuela."
And before that, a ProPer In Management tanker was blocked.
ProPer 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."
