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UAE emerges as hot bed for companies aiding Venezuela to sidestep U.S. oil sanctions

Companies’ shipments of Venezuelan crude and fuel in 2020 make up 3.9% of Venezuela’s total oil exports worth around USD 208.5 million, reports Reuters.

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The United Arab Emirates, a close ally of the United States, has emerged to be a hub for companies trying to help Venezuela circumvent American sanctions, reports Reuters.

In June, the United States placed sanctions on some oil tankers managed by shipping firms in an effort to intensify its attempts at cutting off Venezuela’s oil trade in hopes of toppling its socialist President, Nicolas Maduro.

Within a matter of weeks, some little-known companies based in the UAE reportedly took over management of several tankers that had already been shipping Venezuelan oil, changed their names, and continued transporting Venezuelan crude.

Purportedly, the companies include Muhit Maritime, Issa Shipping FZE and Asia Charm Ltd. The owners of these companies remain unidentified.

The companies started establishing their fleets since early 2019 and their shipments of Venezuelan crude and fuel in 2020 make up about 3.9% of Venezuela’s total oil exports.

The total shipments are estimated to be worth around USD 208.5 million based on market prices for Venezuela’s flagship crude grade, known as Merey.

Among the vessels sanctioned by the U.S. was an oil tanker called Euroforce, then managed by Greece-based ship operator Eurotankers Inc; the sanctions were later lifted.

Somewhere between July and August, Muhit Maritime took over management of three other Eurotankers-operated vessels, and changed their names to the Alsatayir, Almada and Alasfal.

According to shipping data by Refinitiv Eikon, Almada set sail on July 31 transporting roughly 650,000 barrels of Venezuelan crude in a ship-to-ship transfer from Alasfal off Venezuela’s coast.

Three weeks later, Alsatayir loaded 650,000 barrels of crude in another ship-to-ship transfer. The shipments were estimated to be worth $40 million based on market prices at the time.

Alsatayir and Almada sailed to waters off Malaysia, to transfer the cargoes onto other tankers at sea in mid-October.

The Alsatayir’s cargo was later received by tanker Afra Royal, which later sailed to Qingdao port in China to offload the 644,715 barrels in early November.

In October, the Almada changed its name, registered owner and shipping manager.

Reuters reported in June that 19.7 million barrels of oil reached China through ship-to-ship transfers in 2019, a procedure that masks the true origin of the cargo.

The other two companies Issa Shipping FZE and Asia Charm Ltd purportedly used similar strategies to transport Venezuelan crude.

Related: U.S. sanctions four shipping companies for transporting Venezuelan oil
Related: U.S. sanctions Rosneft Trading for brokering Venezuela crude oil deal


Photo credit: Sergio Souza
Published: 30 December, 2020

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Winding up

Singapore: Xihe Holdings subsidiaries to be wound up voluntarily, creditors to submit claims

Creditors of Da Zhong Tankers and Xin Ying Shipping are required on or before 17 July 2026 to send in their names and addresses and particulars of their debts or claims to appointed liquidators, says notice.

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Xihe Holdings Pte Ltd subsidiaries Da Zhong Tankers Pte Ltd and Xin Ying Shipping Pte Ltd will voluntarily wind up following resolutions that were passed by written means, according to a Government Gazette notice published on Thursday (18 June).

The resolutions set out below were duly passed:

  • SPECIAL RESOLUTION – WINDING-UP

That the Company be wound up voluntarily pursuant to section 160(1)(b) of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018.

  • ORDINARY RESOLUTION – APPOINTMENT OF LIQUIDATORS

That Paresh Tribhovan Jotangia and Ho May Kee of Grant Thornton Singapore Private Limited, 8 Marina View, #40-04/05 Asia Square Tower 1, Singapore 018960 be and are hereby appointed as joint and several liquidators to conduct the said winding-up and that their remuneration be fixed on the usual scale of their professional charges for the work involved.

  • SPECIAL RESOLUTION – POWERS OF LIQUIDATORS

That the liquidators of the Company be authorised to exercise any of their powers given by section 177, 144 (1) and (2) of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018 and to distribute to members, in specie, any part of the assets of the Company.

In another notice, the liquidator of the company said creditors are required on or before 17 July 2026 to send in their names and addresses with particulars of their solicitors (if any) to liquidator Paresh Tribhovan Jotangia at Grant Thornton Singapore Private Limited, 8 Marina View, #40-04/05 Asia Square Tower 1, Singapore 018960. 

The liquidator may require creditors or their solicitors to “come in and prove their said debts or claims at such time and place as shall be specified in such notice or in default thereof, they will be excluded from the benefit of any distribution made before such debts are proved.”

Related: Singapore: Additional Xihe Holdings subsidiaries to be placed under judicial management

 

Photo credit: steve pb from Pixabay
Published: 19 June, 2026

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Winding up

Singapore: Liquidator of Parakou Shipping issues notice of dividend

Second and final dividend to admitted creditors of Parakou Shipping is payable by 14 July, according to Government Gazette notice.

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A notice of dividend for Parakou Shipping Pte Ltd, which is currently in voluntary liquidation, was published on the Government Gazette on Thursday (18 June). 

The following are the details of the notice:

Name of Company : Parakou Shipping Pte Ltd (In Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation)
Address of Registered Office : c/o KordaMentha, 50 Raffles Place, 25-01 Singapore Land Tower, Singapore 048623
Amount per centum : 0.55 per centum of admitted claims (in accordance with the Order of Court HC/ORC 4175/2024)
First and Final or otherwise : Second and Final Dividend to admitted creditors (in accordance with the Order of Court HC/ORC 4175/2024)
When payable : By 14 July 2026
Where payable : c/o KordaMentha Pte Ltd, 50 Raffles Place, #25-01 Singapore Land Tower, Singapore 048623

Related: Singapore: Notice of intended dividend issued for Parakou Shipping Pte Ltd

 

Photo credit: Benjamin Child
Published: 19 June, 2026

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Alternative Fuels

MOL inks bio-LNG bunker fuel supply deals with Titan and Axpo for car carriers in Europe

Titan, part of Amsterdam-based Molgas, will continue to supply bio-LNG fuel in Northwest Europe, while Axpo will take charge of supply in the Mediterranean region.

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MOL inks bio-LNG bunker fuel supply deals with Titan and Axpo for car carriers in Europe

Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) on Thursday (18 July) said it has signed new supply agreements in Northern Europe and the Mediterranean region to expand the use of bio-LNG marine fuel on MOL-operated LNG-fuelled car carriers.

Titan, part of Amsterdam-based Molgas, will continue to supply bio-LNG fuel in Northwest Europe, while Axpo will take charge of supply in the Mediterranean region.

MOL said the agreement makes it possible for its company to supply bio-LNG fuel for automobile carriers in the Mediterranean region, specifically Port of Malaga and Barcelona in Spain, following the bio-LNG fuel supply agreement in Western Europe, which commenced in March last year.

The bio-LNG fuel to be supplied in this initiative has a lifecycle carbon intensity (carbon dioxide emissions per unit of energy consumption) of -15 g-CO2/MJ or less, from production through consumption. Furthermore, this bio-LNG fuel has obtained International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC-EU). 

“Through this supply agreement, MOL has established a framework that ensures a continuous and stable supply of bio-LNG fuel not only in Northern Europe but also in the Mediterranean,” the company said.

As part of the group’s efforts to adopt alternative fuels and achieve net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, it is utilising LNG-fuelled vessels as a bridge solution to facilitate the transition to carbon-neutral fuels such as bio-LNG and synthetic LNG (e-methane).

In 2025, MOL signed a bio LNG fuel supply agreement in Northwest Europe with Titan, part of the Molgas, and MOL has continued this bio LNG fuel supply agreement with the same company in 2026 as well.

 

Photo credit: Mitsui OSK Lines
Published: 19 June, 2026

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