Top oil shipping companies say they have tightened operational guidelines and deployed technology to prevent accidental breaches of sanctions, as the countries hit by ever tougher restrictions fight back with elaborate strategies to dodge them. Washington has ramped up shipping-related sanctions over the last two years to make it harder for countries, such as Iran and Venezuela, to export the oil that provides their main source of revenue. By Jonathan SaulMarianna Parraga. Full Text -> TheGlobeandMail.

Lloyd’s of London underwriters have argued that a subsidiary of Crédit Agricole SA cannot claim $10. 4 million for a tanker requisitioned by Venezuela because the U. S. has signaled that it could relax sanctions against the nation, which make its return more likely. A group of 19 underwriters, including units of MS Amlin and Axis, hit back at High Court claims that the lender’s mortgagees interest insurance, or MII, policy has been triggered after the Rio Caroni, which was financed by Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, fell into the hands of the Venezuelan government. Full Text -> Law360

Tracking data from Venezuela’s PDVSA has shown the means by which Venezuela continues to trade oil despite US sanctions forbidding them from doing so. It involves a lot of oil tankers, nearly 10% of all the tankers on the planet. Jason Ditz Posted. Full Text -> AntiWar.com

 A shipping joint venture between Venezuela and China has fallen apart in the wake of U.S. sanctions, resulting in the South American nation losing three supertankers at a time when foreign shippers are reluctant to carry its oil, court documents show. By Luc Cohen and Roslan Khasawneh. Full Text-> Yahoo! Finance

U.S. federal prosecutors filed suit late Wednesday to seize four tankers-worth of gasoline Iran is sailing to Venezuela, the latest salvo in the administration’s effort to stifle flows of goods and money helping to keep two of its top foes in power. By Ian Talley and Benoit Faucon. Full Text-> The Wall Street Journal

Oil tankers that were sailing toward Venezuela have turned around and others have left the country’s waters as the United States considers blacklisting dozens of ships for transporting Venezuelan oil, according to shipping data and industry sources. By Marianna Parraga, Jonathan Saul. Full Text-> Reuters

Chinese oil companies may soon decline to charter any tanker that has visited Venezuela in the past year to avoid disruption to operations if the United States blacklists more ships for trading with Caracas, four shipping sources told Reuters on Tuesday. By Jonathan Saul, Devika Krishna Kumar. Full Text -> Reuters

Any ship and its operating company hit by Venezuela sanctions is put on the U.S. Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list and cannot do business in U.S. dollars. Blocked ships cannot call at U.S. ports. Furthermore, any business that is at least 50% owned by an entity on the SDN list is also blocked. By Greg Miller. Full Text -> Freight Waves