As secondary sanctions on PDVSA oil enter their second month, Maduro & Co. are predictably turning to opaque intermediaries to keep Venezuelan crude flowing to Asia.
Bloomberg energy reporters Weilun Soon and Julian Lee tracked four “zombie vessels” that departed Venezuela since late March, likely carrying PDVSA crude to Indian and/or Chinese refineries. These aren’t ordinary shadow fleet tankers—they’re imposters, stealing the identity of defunct ships to dodge Western sanctions like the secondary tariffs on Venezuelan oil that kicked in on April 2nd.
Zombie vessels are part of the murky logistics ecosystem that keeps sanctioned oil moving. Shadow vessles are typically old, poorly maintained, and flagged in ill-regulated states (e.g. Gabon, Cameroon, or Antigua & Barbuda). They often obscure their ownership, change their flags and switch operators. Russia, Iran, North Korea, and Venezuela remain their main customers.
But zombie vessels assume the name of legitimate ships to appear legit to foreign states and international watchdogs. One example flagged by Bloomberg: a 32-year-old Comoros-flagged tanker that left Venezuela’s José terminal and reached Malaysian waters in April—posing as a ship demolished back in 2017.
Tareck El Aissaimi, one of the historic figures of ruling chavismo, seems to fall from grace, as a bunch of people—including a mayor, a construction magnate and several high ranking officials—have been arrested on charges of massive corruption
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At a moment of dynastic consolidation, Maduro resorts to a power move against former oil chief Pedro Tellechea. Others before him fell from grace in different circumstances
