A VLCC managed by Greece’s NGM Energy will carry Venezuelan crude to India as part of Reliance Industries’ fuel-swap agreement, according to tanker data and sources.
Kpler data shows the 298,600-dwt Commodore (built 2000) entered Venezuelan waters last Thursday and is still loading at the Jose terminal.
“NGM agreed that a vessel under its commercial management, the MT Commodore, would carry a cargo of crude oil from Venezuela to India,” the Greek shipmanager said in a written statement.
“The shipment is made in connection with humanitarian exchange of oil for diesel fuel, which is needed by the Venezuelan people for heating, cooking, healthcare and power generation.”
“All details of the transaction and transportation were shared with US authorities, who confirmed that the US policy authorising such transactions remained in place.”
Last month, NGM had to divert the Liberia-flagged Commodore away from Venezuela after pledging it would not be engaged in any Venezuelan trade without explicit approval by Washington.
The shipmanager was forced to cancel the previous charter as such approval did not exist, but Reliance suggested its shipment was permitted under the US sanctions regime, TradeWinds understood. NGM was also said to have separately verified Reliance’s statement with the US authorities.
In recent weeks, Washington has sought to ramp up pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by targeting vessels involved in the country’s oil trade with sanctions.
The 300,000-dwt Voyager I (built 2003), also managed by NGM Energy, was one of the ships blacklisted by the Office of Foreign Assets Control between 2 June and 2 July.
But Washington has apparently allowed some refiners that have upstream investments in Venezuela to lift crude from the country under oil-for-debt agreements and send diesel back on a humanitarian basis.
While sitting on the world’s largest crude-oil reserves, Venezuelan has struggled to lift output from its refineries and oil fields due to a lack of maintenance.
Italy’s Eni and Spain’s Repsol have continued their swap deals with Petroleos de Venezuela, the country’s national oil major, according to industry data and sources.
Reliance previously chartered the 306,000-dwt Maria A Angelicoussis (built 2000) to lift oil from Venezuela in April for a trip to its Jamnagar refinery, Kpler data suggested.
The Indian refiners and US government officials did not respond to TradeWinds' emails seeking comment.
