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Returned Oil Cargoes Highlight Venezuela's Ongoing Export Challenges, Bloomberg Analysis Says

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Two ghost tankers are returning Venezuelan crude cargoes after months at sea, highlighting continued problems in the country's sanctioned oil trade, according to a Bloomberg analysis on Thursday.

Port documents and vessel-tracking data reviewed by Bloomberg showed that the tankers Olina and Galaxy 3 began unloading cargoes nearly five months after initially taking on the oil.

Oil tankers rarely return crude shipments to their original loading ports, making the move highly unusual in Venezuela's sanctioned oil trade, the analysis said.

The vessels were likely preparing to deliver cargoes to Cuba or China, two countries that continued buying Venezuelan oil despite US sanctions.

Two more shadow fleet vessels, the Romana and MS Melenia, have remained stranded near Venezuela since December, according to the analysis.

US forces intercepted the Olina in Caribbean waters shortly after Nicolas Maduro lost power, forcing the tanker to abandon its original voyage and return to Venezuela.

US President Donald Trump ordered the sanctioned vessel back as Washington moved to tighten oversight of Venezuelan oil exports.

The Olina is unloading 713,000 barrels Thursday, while the Galaxy 3 returned almost 1 million barrels earlier this week after remaining stalled near Venezuela since late last year, the analysis said.

PDVSA continues to rely on shadow-fleet tankers, Iranian and Russian feedstock, and disabled tracking systems to keep oil exports moving under US sanctions, according to the analysis.

US imports of Venezuelan crude climbed to 588,000 barrels per day last week, the highest level recorded since early 2019.

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