Maduro regime commissions Iranian shipyard to build two tankers for PDVSA fleet

Venezuela considering ordering a iranian shipyard the construction of two new tankers under an existing deal that has been plagued by late payments and difficulties obtaining necessary certifications, according to documents and people familiar with the matter.

Venezuela’s public energy company, PDVSA, has stepped up its efforts since last year to buy and lease vessels to rebuild its own fleet. Its maritime operations have been impacted by a long-standing lack of capital and US sanctions that have made it difficult to obtain insurance and classifications, which are essential for sailing in international waters.

The bone two new tankerswho will be called India Urkey e mara of indiathey will cost 31.66 million euros each (about 33.8 million USD)according to an internal PDVSA document detailing the proposed deal.

The ships will be built by Iranian Marine Industrial Company (SADRA) in its Bushehr shipyard, which already built two previous vessels for PDVSAthe Aframax Arita and Anita.

Construction of the “India Urquia should start soon,” one of the sources said.

The deal will come after Venezuela pays off an outstanding debt with Iran with fuelaccording to the document, one of the reasons why the contract did not work out as originally planned.

PDVSA delivered to Iran at the end of 2021 a cargo of fuel oil of 644,000 barrels worth 33.9 million euros.

“The shipyard reduced the amount of 30.34 million euros belonging to the debt of the Arita ship”, and in August another 1.99 million euros was allocated to pay the late fees accumulated by the ship , indicates the document.

The Arita and the second tanker, recently renamed Anita, faced long delays to start navigating amid unpaid debts and problems for PDVSA’s maritime arm, PDV Marina, to secure its corresponding insurance and pricing policies.

He AritaNOW renamed Columbus, first set sail in 2017 but was later arrested by a boat operating company over unpaid bills. It was returned to PDVSA in 2019 and has remained mostly in Venezuelan waters since.

He Anita left Iran at the end of December with a shipment of Iranian condensate for PDVSA, a source said. It hasn’t arrived in Venezuela yetaccording to tanker tracking services.

A separate ship chartered by Iran’s state-owned Naftiran Intertrade Company (NICO), the supertanker Wen Yao, is also heading to Venezuela carrying Iranian condensate as part of an oil swap with PDVSA, the company said. TankerTrackers.com monitoring.

At the end of the contract, PDVSA will have paid Iran some 157 million euros for the four ships, according to the proposal written in the document. The case was first announced in 2006 with great fanfare from Tehran and the government of former President Hugo Chávez.

Some of the ships to be delivered by Iran may be operated by third parties, another source said.

The document does not detail delivery dates for the two upcoming tankers. PDVSA and SADRA did not respond to requests for comment.

The oil sectors of Iran and Venezuela are under US sanctions which make it difficult to obtain services for vessels built or flying the flag of these countries, and which expose their cargoes to the risk of seizures and detentions.

Washington has expanded the list of sanctioned vessels linked to Iran and Venezuela in recent years. It also imposed sanctions on its state-owned oil companies and shipping subsidiaries.

(With information from Reuters/By Mircely Guanipa and Marianna Parraga)

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