The oil tanker tracking service “TankerTrackers” announced that about 12 tankers carrying crude oil and fuel from Venezuela have left its territorial waters in the past few days, using what is known as “dark mode” to hide their tracks from monitoring systems, according to “Reuters”.
The service stated that all the ships observed leaving were included in the US sanctions lists, while other sanctioned tankers left Venezuelan waters empty after unloading their cargoes or completing internal transfers. This comes in light of the severe oil blockade imposed by the United States on Venezuela, which is part of increasing pressure that recently led to the detention of President Nicolas Maduro.
These movements may represent an opportunity for the Venezuelan national oil company “PDVSA,” which has accumulated a large stock of oil on board floating tankers, due to the restrictions imposed since last December, which effectively led to the cessation of oil exports.
Oil revenues are the primary source of funding for the Venezuelan state, at a time when the interim government headed by Delcy Rodriguez, Minister of Oil and Vice President, needs these revenues to secure public spending and maintain internal stability.
“TankerTrackers.com” pointed out that at least four tankers took a route north of Margarita Island after a brief stop near the maritime border, before being identified through satellite imagery.
A source familiar with the departure procedures said that the Venezuelan authorities allowed at least four giant tankers to leave the territorial waters using “dark mode,” by deliberately turning off the transceivers to avoid being detected.
It is not yet clear whether this move represents a direct challenge to the American measures. US President Donald Trump affirmed on Saturday that the “oil embargo” imposed on Venezuela is still fully in effect, but he also indicated that Venezuela’s major customers, led by China, will continue to receive oil during the upcoming transition period.
