Iran oil tanker arrives in Venezuelan waters: Media
Iranian flag oil tanker carrying about one million barrels of crude oil entered Venezuelan waters, Reuters reported.
The Reuters news agency reported based on a shipping document on Monday that the third oil cargo from Naftiran Intertrade Company limited (NICO) is being delivered to Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA), a Venezuelan oil company.
This is part of a contract between the Islamic Republic and Venezuela to pave the way for exporting Iranian light crude oil to the Latin American country, so the Venezuelan refineries have started refining Iranian crude oil for a while.
According to official data of Refinitiv Eikon, Suezmax Sonia 1 oil tanker kicked off its journey from Kharg Port in southern Iran in early May and arrived in Venezuelan waters on Saturday.
Two other giant oil tankers with Iranian flag (Dino 1 and Sylvia 1) arrived in Venezuelan ports last month. The two oil tankers transferred the first Iranian crude oil cargo to the Latin American country.
Data announced by the PDVSA show that the two Iranian oil tankers loaded Venezuela’s heavy crude oil for Iran.
The arrival of the Iranian oil tanker to Venezuelan waters has happened simultaneously with the presence of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Tehran on the third leg of his tour in Asia.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his Iranian counterpart President Ebrahim Raisi participated in the ceremony of delivering the second oil tanker, named Aframax 2, on Saturday. The vessel was made by Iran's Sadra Company in Tehran.
Aframax 2 oil tanker weighing 21,500 tons, 250 meters long, 44 meters wide, and 21 meters high on the deck, can carry 113,000 tons of crude oil equivalent to 750,000 barrels.
The oil tanker left the port of Bushehr on Wednesday for the Persian Gulf for maritime tests. Aframax 2 was manufactured by Iranian engineers in two years.
The ship has a propelling engine with 21,000 horsepower and three diesel generators, each of which can produce 900 kilowatts of electricity.
Venezuela signed a contract with Iran to purchase four tankers worth 240 million dollars.
President Maduro, heading a high-ranking delegation, arrived in Tehran on June 10 in order to sign a 20-year cooperation document with Iran on political, cultural, tourism, economic, oil, and petrochemical fields.