First Iranian tanker reaches fuel-starved Venezuela despite US warning
- Fleet of five tankers is carrying about 1.5 million barrels of fuel from Iran
- Washington has imposed sanctions on Venezuelan oil exports and Iran
The first of five Iranian tankers carrying fuel for energy-starved Venezuela entered the South American country’s exclusive economic zone on Saturday, despite a US official’s warning that Washington was considering a response to the shipment.
The tanker, named Fortune, reached the country’s waters at after passing north of the neighbouring dual-island Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago, according to vessel tracking data from Refinitiv Eikon.
“The ships from the fraternal Islamic Republic of Iran are now in our exclusive economic zone,” tweeted Tareck El Aissami, Venezuela’s economy vice-president and recently named oil minister.
Venezuelan state television showed images of a navy ship and aircraft preparing to meet it. The defence minister had pledged that the military would escort the tankers once they reached Venezuela’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) due to what authorities described as threats from the United States.
The tanker flotilla was carrying a total of 1.53 million barrels of petrol and alkylate to Venezuela, according to both governments, sources and calculations by TankerTrackers.com.
The desperately needed shipments have caused a diplomatic stand-off between the United States and Iran and Venezuela, which are under US sanctions. Fuel is scarce in Venezuela due to a near-complete breakdown of the Opec nation’s 1.3 million barrel-per-day refining network.
