Steamship Mutual issued an advisory note on Wednesday, April 10, warning that US Treasury’s decision on blacklisting a Greek tanker demonstrates the agency’s willingness to interpret sanctions on Venezuela broadly, beyond the literal text of its rules – with potential implications for foreign tanker operators and oil traders.
Specifically, the US Department of Treasury blacklisted two shipping firms and their vessel, Despina Adrianna. The latter was busted transporting oil from Venezuela to Cuba, according to OFAC, in an alleged violation of American sanctions on Venezuelan oil company PDVSA.
According to Steamship, there are no specific prohibitions against this trade, so it appears that that OFAC is using it’s decision to sanction non-US persons in relation to a range of activities which support the Maduro regime.
A recent State Department press briefing by the US Special Representative for Venezuela, Mr Elliot Abrams, suggests that the purchase of petroleum products from, or the supply of petroleum products to, PdVSA would expose persons involved in those activities to sanctions risks.
We have had conversations with foreign oil traders, with foreign governments, really along the same lines – that is, you should be supporting Interim President Guaido, you should not be supporting this regime, you should not be buying oil from this regime and giving them cash.
Concluding, Mr Abrams confirmed that the US Government is reaching out to suppliers of petroleum products to PdVSA and warning them that such action is potentially sanctionable as ‘material assistance’ to PdVSA, under Sec 1(a)(iii) of the EO 13850.
