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Pdv Marina News

04 May 2023

Venezuela's Oil Tankers at Risk of Sinking, Fires, Spills, Report finds

©JosIsaac/AdobeStock

More than half of the 22 oil tankers in Venezuela's fleet are so run down that they should be immediately repaired or taken out of service, according to an internal report from state-run oil company PDVSA that was shared exclusively with Reuters. The report by PDVSA's maritime branch, entitled "Critical deficiencies and risks of PDV Marina's tanker fleet," said years of deferred maintenance had left the entire fleet with "low levels of reliability," at risk of spills, sinking, fires, collisions or flooding.

02 Mar 2022

Distressed Venezuelan Supertanker Discharging Oil Cargo in Asia - Sources

A U.S.-sanctioned Venezuela-owned supertanker that had mechanical problems since January is transferring its 2-million-barrel cargo of heavy crude to other vessels in Asia, according to three people familiar with the matter.The very large crude carrier (VLCC) Maximo Gorki left Venezuela in November amid an export push designed to generate funds for cash-strapped state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), which has been under U.S. trading sanctions since 2019.Aging infrastructure problems, including a lack of oil storage and vessels, frequent refinery outages and export port congestion, are undermining PDVSA's increased oil production, impeding efforts to boost revenue, according to company documents and sources.

20 Oct 2020

PDVSA Plans to Offload Oil from Tilting FSO Offshore Venezuela

The FSO Nabarima listing in the Gulf of Paria on October 16 (Photo: Fishermen and Friends of the Sea)

Venezuelan state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) plans to offload crude from the Nabarima floating oil facility via ship-to-ship (STS) transfer amid environmental concerns, two people familiar with the matter said on Monday.The Nabarima, part of PDVSA’s Petrosucre joint venture with Italy’s Eni SpA in the Paria Gulf off Venezuela’s eastern coast, is laden with 1.3 million barrels of crude.Images last week showed it tilting on its side, raising worries about a possible oil spill.

11 Aug 2020

How Venezuela Lost Three Supertankers to Its Chinese Partner

A shipping joint venture between Venezuela and China has fallen apart in the wake of U.S. sanctions, resulting in the South American nation losing three supertankers at a time when foreign shippers are reluctant to carry its oil, court documents show.PetroChina Co Ltd, which had been state-run Petroleos de Venezuela’s partner in the Singapore-based joint venture CV Shipping Pte Ltd, took control of the three tankers between January and February, according the documents from a Singapore court reviewed by Reuters.The transfer of the Junin, Boyaca and Carabobo very large crude carriers (VLCC) has not been previously reported.It came after U.S.

09 Mar 2020

Venezuelan Detains More than 30 PDVSA Workers

At least 38 workers from Venezuela's state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela’s, including the president of maritime subsidiary PDV Marina, were detained on accusations of trafficking fuel, Venezuelan Interior Minister Nestor Reverol said on Saturday, describing the accusations as "treason."The move comes just days after other state officials were detained and amid a shakeup at PDVSA after President Nicolas Maduro last month named a committee to restructure the OPEC nation’s oil industry, which is struggling under U.S. sanctions designed to force Maduro’s ouster, as well as years of mismanagement, corruption, and declining cash flow.On Friday…

20 Aug 2019

Fire Hits PDVSA Tanker at Amuay Bay

A fire swept through the engine room of a tanker owned by Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA on Monday while it was anchored at Amuay Bay near the country's largest refinery, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday.The extent of the damage to the Panama-flagged Aframax tanker Proteo was not immediately clear. But it highlighted the poor state of much of the fleet belonging to PDV Marina, PDVSA's shipping subsidiary, at a time when U.S. sanctions are complicating its ability to lease vessels from third parties.Even before this fire, the Proteo had been inoperative, one of the sources said."The vessel is currently inoperative.

14 Mar 2019

BSM: PDVSA Tanker Management Likely Ending

Maritime contractor Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM) is considering to stop managing Venezuelan state-oil company PDVSA's tankers by the end of this month or in April following U.S. sanctions against the country, BSM said on Thursday.It also said in a statement that recent political developments made managing assets for the Venezuelan government "an almost impossible task", and it was working on returning Venezuelan vessels to PDVSA's maritime arm PDV Marina and its subsidiaries.The German firm, which operates a fleet of 15 PDVSA vessels and has worked in the Latin American country for almost 25 years, said returning tankers to PDV Marina has proven to be "a difficult task considering the lack of resources" in Venezuela."Nevertheless…

07 Mar 2019

PDVSA Insists it's Still Working with BSM

Venezuela's state-run oil company PDVSA said on Thursday it has not halted business with maritime firm Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM), even after the German firm said it would remove the crews that have been operating 10 of 15 PDVSA vessels over unpaid fees and return the tankers.On Tuesday, PDVSA's maritime arm PDV Marina declared an emergency due to lack of staff to immediately receive the 10 vessels BSM proposed to return to Venezuelan ports due to unpaid bills of at least $15 million.Three other vessels that had been operated by BSM for PDVSA remain anchored in Portugal and Curacao until the resolution of legal disputes linked to fees that PDVSA owes to maritime agencies, port authorities and shipyards."Our subsidiary PDV Marina continues working with BSM...

26 Dec 2018

Soldier-run PDVSA and AWOL Oil Output

© natanaelginting/Adobe Stock

Last July 6, Major General Manuel Quevedo joined his wife, a Catholic priest and a gathering of oil workers in prayer in a conference room at the headquarters of Petroleos de Venezuela SA, or PDVSA.The career military officer, who for the past year has been boss at the troubled state-owned oil company, was at no ordinary mass. The gathering, rather, was a ceremony at which he and other senior oil ministry officials asked God to boost oil output."This place of peace and spirituality…

18 Apr 2017

Banned at Sea: Venezuela's Crude-stained Oil Tankers

In the scorching heat of the Caribbean Sea, workers in scuba suits scrub crude oil by hand from the hull of the Caspian Galaxy, a tanker so filthy it can't set sail in international waters. The vessel is among many that are constantly contaminated at two major export terminals where they load crude from Venezuela's state-run oil company, PDVSA. The water here has an oily sheen from leaks in the rusty pipelines under the surface. That means the tankers have to be cleaned before traveling to many foreign ports, which won't admit crude-stained ships for fear of environmental damage to their harbors, port facilities or other vessels. The…

18 Jan 2016

What is the Scrapping Potential of the Crude Fleet?

Tanker owners are currently doing fairly well, certainly compared to their colleagues in the dry bulk market, says a reserach report from Poten & Partners. However, history shows that such markets do not last forever and when the downturn comes, it is important that the supply side can respond quickly. The tanker orderbook is not excessively large in historical terms but still requires a sizable demand increase to maintain a balanced market in the coming years. Scrapping is the other variable that influences the supply side of the equation and the question is: What is the potential for scrapping to help balance the market in the coming years?

06 Feb 2014

CH Offshore in 2013 Year-End Financial Doldrums

Image courtesy of CH Offshore

In their financial statement for the first half ended 31, December 2013, Asia-Pacific offshore AHTS/OSV owners CH Offshore recorded profit after income tax of US$14.099-million, which was 26.8% lower than the profit after income tax of US$19.25 million for the previous corresponding first half ended 31 December 2012 . The following information is extracted from the financial report. As at 31 December 2013, the financial position of the Group remained healthy. Both total shareholders'…

03 Mar 2004

Phoenix Energy Nav Joins Aframax Pool

PDV Marina, S.A. (PDVM), the marine transportation subsidiary of Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA), the Venezuelan state oil company, and Overseas Shipholding Group, Inc. announced that Phoenix Energy Navigation SA (Phoenix) has joined the Aframax International Pool. Phoenix has contributed two double-hulled Aframax tankers to the pool (the Phoenix Alpha and the Phoenix Beta both built in 2003), expanding the number of vessels in the Pool to 34, including committed newbuildings.

26 Feb 2001

Period Contracts Rise

There has been a marked increase in period contracts since January 2000. Not only has period chartering activity increased, but the length of the periods has also increased and there have again been several contracts above one-year. It is also interesting to see that it is the trader VITOL that has been one of the most active time charterers with 11 contracts, of six months and above, recorded since the beginning of 2000. We have recorded 8 contracts for another trader, Alpine. We have recorded some 200 contracts over the period, Hanjin and Petrobras being the most active charterers with 11 contracts each of at least 6 months. We have recorded 11 charterers taking 5 tankers or more for 6 months and longer. These charterers have altogether made 87 contracts.

27 Dec 2006

PDV Marina to Buy Tankers from Iran

Venezuela's state oil company will reportedly buy four oil tankers from Iran, according to an AP report. Petroleos de Venezuela SA said in a statement that its shipping subsidiary, PDV Marina, had signed a contract to buy the tankers from the Iran Marine Industrial Company. It did not disclose the price. PDV Marina president Asdrubal Chavez, who is a cousin of Venezuela president Hugo Chavez, reportedly said the deal is among various projects involving the two governments, and is also part of Venezuela's larger plan to expand PDV Marina's current fleet of 21 oil tankers. (Source: AP)

06 Aug 2003

INTERTANKO Latin American Panel Meeting Discusses Changes

The third meeting of INTERTANKO’s Latin American Panel convened in Miami on July 24 to discuss a wide-ranging agenda. Capt. Howard Snaith updated the Panel on recent changes and increased activity on issues concerning chemical tankers within the Association and further reported on recent discussions at MEPC 49, which culminated in a compromise proposal for revisions of MARPOL Annex II. Of particular interest to the region, it was reported that Brazil had signed an agreement for the use of CDI reports for Port State Control purposes. It was agreed that INTERTANKO would encourage other countries in the region to use both CDI and SIRE reports, either through the Viña del Mar - the Latin American Agreement on Port State Control - or by direct contact with maritime authorities in each country.

06 Aug 2003

INTERTANKO Meets in Miami

American Panel covered a wide-ranging and ambitious agenda. topics. Capt. in a compromise proposal for revisions of MARPOL Annex II. agreement for the use of CDI reports for Port State Control purposes. with maritime authorities in each country. world wide, the Panel was eager to hear the latest news from Venezuela. due to last minute changes in their schedule but Mr. able to summarise the current situation in the country. slowly recovering normal functionality. less operating at full capacity. for a longer period than necessary. double-check and re-confirm existing information and contacts. re-structured both on a functional and geographical level. Managing Director, Dr. previous week. and engaged in discussions to seek clarification on several issues.