THE Djibouti-flagged 306,344-dwt tanker Young Yong arriving at Qingdao declared it held Malaysian crude, but ship tracking showed it had not loaded in Malaysia but in Venezuela, an OPEC nation under us oil sanctions, Reuters reports.
The Young Yong is one of three vessels identified by Reuters that were chartered by little-known companies to export Venezuelan oil and used false documents to conceal its origin, according to shipping documents and 11 sources with knowledge of the trade.
Two of those tankers, including the Young Yong, were designated this month by US authorities for violating sanctions on Iran, one of Venezuela's closest allies.
Six shipping and oil trading specialists told Reuters the use of false documents to conceal cargoes originating in sanctioned countries including Venezuela and Iran has increased compliance risks for oil and trading companies, amid a proliferation of international sanctions.
'It's now becoming clear you cannot trust certificates of origin even when they come with official government documentation,' said Cari Stinebower, a US-based partner with law firm Winston & Strawn, who advises oil and trading companies how to comply with sanctions.
The Young Yong was one of several tankers named by the US Treasury as part of a 'smuggling network' that has used forged documentation to ship Iranian oil to finance Iran's Revolutionary Guards and Hezbollah.
SeaNews Turkey
The Young Yong is one of three vessels identified by Reuters that were chartered by little-known companies to export Venezuelan oil and used false documents to conceal its origin, according to shipping documents and 11 sources with knowledge of the trade.
Two of those tankers, including the Young Yong, were designated this month by US authorities for violating sanctions on Iran, one of Venezuela's closest allies.
Six shipping and oil trading specialists told Reuters the use of false documents to conceal cargoes originating in sanctioned countries including Venezuela and Iran has increased compliance risks for oil and trading companies, amid a proliferation of international sanctions.
'It's now becoming clear you cannot trust certificates of origin even when they come with official government documentation,' said Cari Stinebower, a US-based partner with law firm Winston & Strawn, who advises oil and trading companies how to comply with sanctions.
The Young Yong was one of several tankers named by the US Treasury as part of a 'smuggling network' that has used forged documentation to ship Iranian oil to finance Iran's Revolutionary Guards and Hezbollah.
SeaNews Turkey
