Post by Nelson Fossi V.

Breaking News www.nefoconsulting.com SHIP ON SALE or TC #freighment #shipsale #corporateadvisors Mysterious Piraeus-based Edge Maritime has four suezmaxes shipping Venezuelan crude. THE INCREASED NUMBER OF GREECE-LINKED SHIPS NOW RETURNING TO VENEZUELA COMES AMID UNCERTAINTY ABOUT WHETHER THE NEW BIDEN ADMINISTRATION WILL WIND BACK, INTENSIFY OR CHANGE EXISTING SANCTIONS. GREEK Shipowners have returned to Venezuela in rising numbers, emboldened by the January inauguration of new US president Joe Biden, as increased tankers are tracked shipping sanctioned crude cargos, mostly to China. At least 20 tankers owned or formerly linked to Greek shipowners have loaded crude at Venezuelan ports or via ship-to-ship transfers off nearby Caribbean islands since January 1, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence data. Six of these vessels belong to one anonymous, new Greek shipping company, Piraeus-based Edge Maritime that has emerged during the past year with a focus on Venezuela after buying five elderly suezmaxes, data shows. In addition, seven tankers sold by some of the most prominent Greek families to mystery buyers outside the country between October 2020 and April were also immediately deployed on Venezuelan trades, data reveals. There is no suggestion that any of the companies or tankers are breaching US sanctions or engaged in deceptive shipping practices. Until mid-2020, Greek shipowners carried 80% of Venezuelan cargoes, defying unilateral US sanctions first imposed in early 2019 on the country’s oil and shipping sector. But after six tankers owned by four prominent Athens and Piraeus shipping families were briefly targeted by US sanctions in mid-2020, shipments slowed to a trickle for the remainder of the year. Venezuela and its Russian marketers instead turned to tankers owned by Vietnam and a series of anonymous single-purpose companies that purchased tonnage specifically for the route. The renewed focus on Venezuela from Greek interests is at odds with a June 2020 pledge from the country’s shipowner lobby group, the Union of Greek Shipowners to encourage its members to refrain from shipping Venezuelan crude. The increased number of Greece-linked ships now returning to Venezuela comes amid uncertainty about whether the new Biden administration will wind back, intensify or change existing sanctions. The Trump-era measures failed to dislodge President Nicolas Maduro amid a worsening humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, while talks to lift Iran shipping sanctions are now underway in Vienna. Venezuelan exports, excluding those to Cuba, totalled about 380,000 barrels per day in May, according to Lloyd’s List calculations, although the number is difficult to properly assess because of deceptive shipping practices used to disguise the origin and destination of the cargo. It is common for tankers involved in shipping Venezuelan crude to switch off their Automatic Identification System to avoid detection when loading.