Two Venezuela-Linked Tankers Detained in Dutch Caribbean Islands

With the resumption of Venezuela's oil trade under U.S. management, shipments from state oil company PDVSA have resumed, including some shipments aboard the same shadow fleet tankers that have carried Venezuelan cargoes for years. Under new orders, some of these vessels are now visiting ports with more stringent PSC inspection regimes, and at least two aging tankers have been detained in Caribbean jurisdictions.

The Caribbean MOU on Port State Control (CMOU) reports that the small tankers Morning Sun and Regina have been detained in Dutch-affiliated jurisdictions, the former in St. Eustatius and the latter in Curacao. NRC, which first reported the development, says that both tankers were involved in delivering Venezuelan oil; Regina had previously carried at least one oil cargo associated with the joint Trafigura-U.S. marketing arrangement, according to the local government.

The detention of Regina could be a setback for Curacao, which wants to become a trading hub for newly-legitimate Venezuelan oil. Curacao prime minister Gilmar Pisas personally welcomed Regina's arrival on the tanker's first visit to the island, reflecting the value that his administration places on the Venezuelan oil trade. But if the jurisdiction's inspectors strictly enforce regulations, many aging shadow fleet vessels will not be able to call at its oil terminal.

Regina's problems extend beyond the usual PSC deficiencies. She arrived falsely flying the flag of East Timor, which does not have an international shipping registry. East Timor has previously asked port states to investigate vessels claiming to fly its flag. An investigation into the circumstances of the vessel's condition and flagging is under way.

Meanwhile, in St. Eustatius, Dutch officials have detained the product tanker Morning Sun for inspection deficiencies. Morning Sun is a 1996-built tanker declaring the flag of Panama; her last PSC inspection outside of Venezuela was in 2018, and the record shows that inspectors found issues with her fire doors, fire pump, and hatchway watertightness, among other items. The officials in St. Eustatius confirmed to NRC that on this inspection, they found too many deficiencies to allow the ship to sail.

Tankers from the "clean," non-shadow fleet have begun calling in Venezuela at scale, arriving on charters for American and European buyers. The experience of Morning Sun and Regina could accelerate Venezuela's transition to the use of tanker tonnage that can pass muster in a Western seaport, rather than aging shadow fleet vessels that make STS transfers in low-enforcement jurisdictions.

Top image: Morning Sun, seen here in previous livery as Morning Glory III (Aart van Bezooijen / VesselFinder)