Russia Takes $30 Million In Venezuela Oil Hostage Over Unpaid Debt

Jon Alternative Media, Blogosphere, Economy

Despite having made its bond payment due last week, Venezuela’s state oil company, PDVSA, remains in fire financial straits, with virtually no funds or liquidity, and regardless of the close Russia-Venezuela ties, a Russian state-run shipping company has taken a tanker of PDVSA crude “hostage” in the Caribbean over $30 million worth of unpaid shipping fees.
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Russia’s shipper Sovcomflot sued PDVSA in the Dutch island St. Maarten in the Caribbean and ‘imposed garnishment on the aforementioned oil cargo,’ Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing a St. Maarten court decision. PDVSA had sent the oil cargo to the Caribbean in October last year, hoping it could net around $20 million from the sale of the crude, but Sovcomflot claims the cash-strapped state-run Venezuelan company owes $30 million in unpaid shipping fees.

This post was published at Zero Hedge on Apr 18, 2017.