Venezuelan oil company PDVSA has declared a "maritime emergency" after a German shipmanager decided to remove crews from some of its tanker fleet.
Reuters cited a PDVSA document and other sources as saying Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM) has returned 10 ships to the company because of unpaid fees.
It has previously been reported that crews were being removed from the 158,000-dwt suezmax Rio Arauca (built 2011) and the 99,000-dwt aframax Parnaso (built 1993).
