TWO more Greek tanker operators that have been active in transporting Venezuelan oil exports have turned their back on the trade under pressure from Washington.

Dynacom Tankers and NGM Energy have both told Lloyd’s List they will not be loading Venezuelan oil cargoes under current conditions and both issued public statements to that effect.

The moves followed a similar statement made by compatriot Greece-based company Thenamaris last Friday.

Earlier this month, the US stung each of the companies, along with a fourth Greece-based operator Chemnav Shipmanagement, by blacklisting a tanker from each of their fleets for participating in the Venezuelan oil trades.

NGM, which describes itself as a commercial manager, already had “a rigorous compliance programme in place, performing sanctions due diligence on all sensitive trades, with the assistance of specialist external counsel”, the company said.

It added: “In the light of the escalation of US trade sanctions against entities engaged in trade with Venezuela’s energy sector on June 2, NGM has implemented a strict policy against servicing vessels intending to call at Venezuela or to load cargo of Venezuelan origin in the future, absent express US authorisation.”

The company said that it was “fully co-operating” with the US authorities to ensure it remains in compliance with all applicable sanctions rules and policies.

It was also working with the US “to reach a timely resolution of the June 2 sanctions action against Sanibel Shiptrade Ltd and Voyager I”.

These were the sanctioned corporate entity and the vessel “for which NGM has provided commercial management services”.

Dynacom Tankers, one of the world’s biggest private tanker managers, also pledged to shun Venezuelan cargoes until a political change.

“Dynacom Tankers is committed to refraining from any future business involving Venezuela until there is a change in regime,” it said.

The words already have been put into action at sea, with vessels turning away from the Venezuelan coast.

Dynacom’s very large crude carrier Boston was last week described as sailing for orders after spending days close to Venezuela. A company spokesperson verified that the vessel would not call at any Venezuelan port.

Elsewhere, NGM said that Commodore, a 20-year-old commercially managed VLCC that had been en route to Venezuela, was “immediately diverted away from Venezuela, and will not return to that trade”.

Earlier, Thenamaris said that its policy was now to prohibit lifting any crude oil from Venezuela “for as long as US sanctions against Venezuela remain in place”.

According to Lloyd’s List Intelligence data, the three companies combined are linked to more than one quarter of the tanker tonnage that has loaded in Venezuela in the past 12 months.

Many expect the US action against tankers to have a wider deterrent effect, however.

Other leading owners in the Venezuela trade have so far declined to make public comment, but at least some are thought to also be distancing themselves from the trade.