Tag: Venezuela

US Advisory on carriage of weapons to Venezuela

U.S. cargo ship captain detained in Venezuela

Centralization of Venezuelan seaports and airports took place in 2009 Centralization of Venezuelan seaports and airports took place in 2009 when the Government led by President Hugo Chávez made the decision. Amid a massive wave of seizures and nationalizations, Chávez also reversed the decentralization process that had been introduced years before."We are going to set up both a national seaport corporation and a national and international airport corporation under the leadership of the State, as it should have been from the beginning," said President Chávez in March 2009.Such actions would be supported by a "Strategic plan of investment, overhaul, and development of seaports and airports."Today, three years after the implementation of such measure, the situation of Venezuelan national seaports is quite discouraging. The President himself admitted that the main port of the country is abandoned. "The port of Puerto Cabello (state of Carabobo, north Venezuela) is abandoned," said Chávez during his recent visit to Carabobo, reported daily newspaper Notitarde.In 2010, thousands of tons of expired food were found in seaports nationwide. The findings -known as the "Pdval scandal"- revealed, among other things, the inefficient work done at the national seaports."There is a huge gap in terms of logistics in Bolipuertos ...

Vessel should proceed to anchor in Bahia de Pozuelo The Sculd P&I Club reports on board robbery incident thanks to Francisco Villanova in Venepandi, correspondent in Caracas, who provided the following information :Francisco Villanova reports that Puerto la Cruz, Venezuela is experiencing piracy or onboard robbery which Members and the Club should be aware of in order to take relevant precautions. If vessels waiting for berth in Jose and other oil terminals in that area are ordered to anchor in the vicinity of Barcelona City, the master should reject such an order. We suggest that the Master says that the vessel will proceed to anchor in Bahia de Pozuelos in the vicinity of Puerto la Cruz city.The point is that the bandits climb on board, taking advantage of darkness of night, lack of vigilance and that the port is located in an uninhabited area far from the city, harbour and naval bases.There have already been cases in which the crew has been gagged, threatened with high calibre weapons and crewmembers have been beaten. When masters report these incidents, local authorities almost order them not reported them to the P&I clubs to avoid creating panic among crewmembers of other ships. However, ...

stuck in Greece Ukranian general cargo Socol-3 suffered mechanical failure 3.5nm N off Kea island, Aegean sea, Greece, on April 27 2011. Vessel anchored 1.3 nm off Kea and was prohibited by Maritime Authorities of Kea to sail till survey will be carried out, and also, authorities required Class verification.Vessel was towed to Lavrion port and judging from Greece media pics, docked there. Vessel departs Russia with some general cargo and 85 mt (84.508 kg ) of Class I explosives, bound for Venezuela.Ukranian company bought vessel in 2003, before 2003 vessel belonged to Russian State Agency Rosvooruzheniye (Russian Arms). Crew 23, Ukranians. SOCOL-3 IMO 9004487, dwt 9500, built 1992, flag St Vincent, manager Kaalbye Shipping, Ukraine Odessa.Source: Maritime Bulletin