Russian shipping firm Soufflot holds Venezuela tanker's cargo over unpaid fees

Houston

VENEZUELA'S state-run oil company, PDVSA, sent a tanker last October to the Caribbean with the expectation that its cargo of crude would fetch about US$20 million - money that the crisis-stricken nation desperately needs.

Instead, the owner of the tanker, the Russian state-owned shipping conglomerate Sovcomflot, held the oil in hopes of collecting partial payment on US$30 million that it said PDVSA owes for unpaid shipping fees.