12/13/2023 0 Comments Operation phantom fury tf 22 attackThe Otoman was chartered by a Russia-based company called Wanneng Munay, according to PDVSA records the address listed in PDVSA's databases belongs to the Spanish General Consulate in Moscow, which said in an email it had never heard of Wanneng Munay. "Since 2019, we have been ignoring the rules for using the registry, such as requesting supporting documents from companies, and we are now adding phantom clients," one of the sources said. Internal PDVSA documents seen by Reuters showed almost all trace of the customers is erased from company records once they have received a few cargoes. This makes it increasingly difficult even for company employees to identify customers, the three sources said. PDVSA suspended those rules last year, according to three sources close to the firm. Preferred buyers were required to operate refineries, so no middlemen could participate. sanctions in 2019, PDVSA followed rigorous guidelines for registering clients, according to a copy of the company's procedures reviewed by Reuters.Ĭustomers had to demonstrate at least two years' industry experience as well as credit-worthiness. That made them a lifeline for President Nicolas Maduro's government. In August, the United States moved to step up sanctions on Venezuela's oil trade, leaving the newcomers virtually the only clients left on PDVSA's export schedule by October. That's almost a quarter of Venezuela's total oil exports and, at market prices for that period, would be worth about $544 million. Those with addresses were not to be found at them.Īll together, they received over 25 million barrels of Venezuelan crude and fuel between April and October, according to PDVSA records. Most appear to be based in Russia, but for many, no complete address was recorded. Of 21 new PDVSA customers identified in the state oil company's internal documents, none has any history in oil trading. The Otoman is one of a fleet of more than 30 tankers hired by a group of hitherto unknown companies that have emerged this year as key buyers of Venezuelan crude. "These regimes are leading one another down a dead-end street that will not benefit their citizens," he said. government is aware that Venezuela is increasingly turning to Iran for assistance with its oil sector. A State Department spokesman said the U.S. Treasury, which operates sanctions policy, did not reply to a request for comment. Venezuela has lost most of its capacity to refine its own oil. New shipments will take place soon," he said, referring to those supplies. sanctions cannot stop us from doing business with each other. PDVSA and Venezuela's oil ministry did not respond to requests for comment for this story.Īn Iranian oil ministry official involved in talks with Caracas said Iran, which has delivered gasoline, condensate, food and refinery equipment to Venezuela, will continue this. The Otoman and other cases show a host of customers in Russia - one of Venezuela's closest allies - are chartering misidentified vessels to export Venezuela's oil to Asia. The falsely named ship is part of the cat-and-mouse game that Caracas is playing with Washington across the globe.Ī previous Reuters investigation found the largest portion of cargoes that set sail from Venezuela since 2019 went to China. This is part of a smokescreen which, according to one Iranian official, Tehran has helped develop so Venezuela's oil exports can continue. Since the United States imposed sanctions on Venezuela in 2019, the state firm and some shipping agencies have been ignoring protocols for checking tanker identity, sources close to PDVSA said. The misidentification of the Otoman is not an isolated error, according to company documents seen by Reuters, shipping databases and corporate registries, as well as interviews with Iranian state officials and four people close to the state oil producer, Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA). Satellite images provided by, an independent vessel tracking service, show the ship was scrapped on the coast of Bangladesh in 2018. The Rubyni was broken up two years ago, they record. Muddying the situation further, the unique identifier for the Otoman listed in the documents - a number used by the International Maritime Organization to identify ships - was assigned to another tanker called the Rubyni, according to the databases. Yet no tanker with that name is registered in major global shipping databases.
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