72% of Pdvsa's fleet operates irregularly, warns Transparencia Venezuela

An alarming 72% of the operational fleet under the control of Venezuela's state oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela (Pdvsa), is operating irregularly, according to a new report by Transparencia Venezuela. This situation persists even as sanctions have been eased and formal mechanisms for international oil sales advance.

The organization's monitoring in July identified 46 sanctioned and clandestine vessels within Venezuelan territorial waters, marking the highest count in the past 13 months. Of these, 14 are directly sanctioned, while 32 are classified as clandestine. This activity continues alongside increasing legal exports facilitated by licenses granted to partners like Chevron and Repsol.

Pdvsa's own fleet of 22 tankers is largely non-operational, with only five currently active. Among these, just one, the Negra Hipólita, is free of restrictions. The remaining four – Soldier, Colón, Anita, and Río Orinoco – are flagged as sanctioned or clandestine. Furthermore, Pdvsa controls 56 vessels under foreign flags, but only 16 of these, or 28%, are not classified as sanctioned or clandestine. Six of these foreign-flagged vessels operate in conjunction with Cubametales, a Cuban state-owned company sanctioned by the OFAC since 2019.

Transparencia Venezuela asserts that Pdvsa has strengthened ties with Iran, Russia, and Cuba, nations known for evading sanctions, to acquire vessels for international hydrocarbon trade. Common practices include cargo transfers, oil re-labeling, and "spoofing." The report also noted a decrease in "dark vessels", those that navigate with their AIS signals turned off, with five detected in July compared to 31 in December 2025. The NGO suggests that eased sanctions and increased maritime traffic surveillance may have prompted these irregular vessels to keep their signals active without facing consequences.

The majority of sanctioned vessels are concentrated at oil and petrochemical facilities in western Venezuela, specifically mentioning the ports of Amuay, Cardón, Bajo Grande, Cabimas, and Puerto Miranda. Here, these vessels engage primarily in coastal shipping and floating storage. Transparencia Venezuela warns that increased crude production and exports must be accompanied by accountability mechanisms and greater clarity in the accounting of operations. In July, oil production and exports reached 1.16 million barrels per day.