Dec 23 (Reuters) – Panama-flagged very large crude carrier Kelly, which had departed from Venezuela carrying oil last week, has returned to Venezuelan waters following the U.S. interception of more tankers, monitoring service TankerTrackers.com said on Tuesday.
The U.S. Coast Guard on Saturday intercepted the Panama-flagged tanker Centuries, which was carrying some 1.9 million barrels of Venezuelan Merey heavy crude, and is pursuing a separate empty vessel that was on its way to the OPEC country.
Centuries and Kelly departed almost together escorted by Venezuelan navy ships last week, sources said. Kelly is now back fully loaded in Venezuelan waters near state-run oil company PDVSA’s Amuay port, TankerTrackers.com said.
More than a dozen loaded vessels are in Venezuela waiting for new directions from their owners after the U.S. seized the supertanker Skipper earlier this month and targeted two additional vessels on the weekend.
U.S. President Donald Trump last week announced a “blockade” of all vessels under sanctions entering or departing from Venezuela in a move to ramp up pressure over Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
Guyana’s maritime authority said this month that at least one of the ships was flying a false Guyanese flag. Panama’s foreign affairs minister said this week that some U.S.-targeted tankers did not follow the country’s maritime rules.
(Reporting by Marianna Parraga; Editing by Nathan Crooks and Jamie Freed)
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