Tanker takes on name of scrapped vessel as Iran-Venezuela trade continues

Iran swapped the name of a tanker to that of a scrapped ship to conceal Venezuelan crude exports, according to a report from Reuters and TankerTrackers.

The report cites documents from state-run oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) showing the 301,620-dwt Ndros (built 1999) loading 1.9m barrels of crude oil destined for Asia.

But shipping databases show the Ndros was scrapped in 2018, while research from TankerTrackers suggests the tanker is really the 299,157-dwt Calliop (built 2002).