Posted on 01/12/2026 11:56:53 AM PST by DFG
HOUSTON, Jan 12 - Two China-flagged supertankers that were sailing to Venezuela to pick up debt-paying crude cargoes amid the U.S. oil embargo on the OPEC country have made u-turn and are now heading back to Asia, LSEG shipping data showed on Monday.
Following the U.S. announcement last week of a $2 billion deal to export up to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil stuck in storage, U.S. president Donald Trump said China would not be deprived of Venezuela's crude.
But the Asian country, the first market of the South American nation's oil, has not received any cargoes since last month as Washington says the embargo remains in force.
The very large crude carriers Xingye and Thousand Sunny had remained anchored in the Atlantic Ocean for weeks, waiting for directions amid the blockade and Venezuela's political crisis, triggered by the U.S. capture of President Nicolas Maduro.
The vessels are part of a group of three supertankers that only cover the Venezuela-China route to carry crude that pays Venezuela's debt service to the Asian country.
The loans that are part of Venezuela's overall debt to China, which used to be its first lender. Shortly after Venezuela was put under U.S. energy sanctions in 2019, China granted a grace period to receive capital payments and negotiated a temporary deal with Caracas so debt service would be compensated with crude cargoes. REUTERS
Dear FRiends,
We need your continuing support to keep FR funded. Your donations are our sole source of funding. No sugar daddies, no advertisers, no paid memberships, no commercial sales, no gimmicks, no tax subsidies. No spam, no pop-ups, no ad trackers.
If you enjoy using FR and agree it's a worthwhile endeavor, please consider making a contribution today:
Click here: to donate by Credit Card
Or here: to donate by PayPal
Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794
Thank you very much and God bless you,
Jim
And now the status quo has change. It will be interesting how China handles the cutoff of oil. Is the Dutch East Indies oil still in operation? Will they seize oil from other tankers or commit piracy.
Seeyoulaterbye
Now now, let’s not be hasty. We should sell oil to China, at 500 dollars a barrel.
WINNING!!!
seizing the fully loaded russkie tanker in the North Atlantic must be making the chicoms nervous ...
Xingye and Thousand Sunny have been renamed Sum Ting Wong I and II.
Withholding oil from Japan some 80 odd years ago started something big. Not saying it will happen again, but .....
Go all in for windmill farms and all EV policies and they’re fine.
It was not loaded.
https://youtu.be/tH9i8dDN39w?t=64
Nonetheless, quite a number of parties, including the Chinese, have definitely taken notice...
It’s not as if the Japanese had been behaving nicely...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.