You have my sympathy.
This is fundamentally why so many third-world countries remain poor—because ordinary commerce is rendered impossible. Contracts are not honored, and honest success apart from the political establishment is punished.
In one degree or another, it has been the normal state of affairs in most countries over the course of human history, which is one reason why the U.S. and the Anglosphere nations generally stand out and have thrived so remarkably.
The oil we shipped was a bit unstable (would turn dark) so we had a gas blanket on the cargo. The tanker was on the last little tank of makeup gas on the day they arrived. We had to pay or take a hit.