Bahri Refutes U.S. Charges on VLCC

The National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia (Bahri) on Sunday clarified that its very large crude carrier (VLCC) tanker Abqaiq was not breaching the US sanctions on Venezuela.

Earlier, the US Senator Marco Rubio accused Bahri of trying to sell diluents to the Venezuelan regime.

"Abqaiq is in ballast condition with no cargo onboard and on her way from the Red Sea to pick up a cargo from the Port of Jose Terminal in Venezuela for one of its regular customers in India," said a statement from the national shipping carrier of Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi oil tanker has set sail free of cargo from the Red Sea. Its destination is Venezuela’s Port of Jose to load a shipment agreed on Jan. 9, 2019, prior to the imposition of sanctions on Caracas, Bahri said in a statement.

The U.S. imposed sanctions on Venezuela on Jan. 28, 2019.

The Abqaiq voyage is expected to be completed before the end of the exemption period allowed to wind-down agreements.

Venezuela is a frequent loading destination for Bahri’s oil tankers, delivering cargoes ‎to ports in India and China. Hence, the recent voyage to the Port of Jose is not an ‎exceptional or peculiar one, as lately stated by a media outlet. ‎

Bahri strictly adheres to and ensures full compliance with the applicable laws and ‎regulations in every market where it operates.