China-owned oil tanker changes the name in apparent effort to evade US sanctions

While in the Indian Ocean heading toward the Strait of Malacca, the very large crude carrier (VLCC) Pacific Bravo went dark on June 5, shutting off the transponder that signals its position and direction to other ships, ship-tracking data showed.

AUS government official had warned ports in Asia not to allow the ship to dock, saying it was carrying Iranian crude in violation ofUS economicsanctions.

A VLCC typically transports about 2 million barrels ofoil, worth about $120 million at current prices.

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On July 18, the transponder of the VLCC Latin Venture was activated offshore Port Dickson, Malaysia, in the Strait of Malacca, about 1,500 km (940 miles) from where the Pacific Bravo had last been signalling its position.

But both the Latin Venture and the Pacific Bravo transmitted the same unique identification number, IMO9206035, issued by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), according to data from information provider Refinitiv and VesselsValue, a company that tracks ships and vessel transactions.

Thomson Reuters has a minority stake in Refinitiv.

Since IMO numbers remain with a ship for life, this indicated the Latin Venture and the Pacific Bravo were the same vessel and suggested the owner was trying toevadeIranianoil sanctions.

"Without speculating on any particular shipowners' actions, generally speaking for a ship to change itsnameabruptly after receiving accusations from theUS, it can only be that the owner is hopeful that the market will be deceived by something as rudimentary as anamechange," said Matt Stanley, anoilbroker at StarFuels in Dubai.

The vessel isownedby Kunlun Holdings, which, according to data from Equasis.org, a shipping transparency website set up by the European Commission and the French Maritime Administration, is based in Shanghai.

The company also has an office in Singapore.

Calls to the company's offices were unanswered.

While operating as the Pacific Bravo, the ship's transmission data showed that its cargo tanks were full before it turned off the transponder.

When it reappeared 42 days later as the Latin Venture, it was empty, according to Refinitiv and VesselsValue data.

Reuters was not able to ascertain where or if theoilonboard the Latin Venture was offloaded.

According to a statement from the Marine Department Malaysia, the Latin Venture entered Port Dickson on June 29 for a crew change and departed on July 18.

The statement said that no cargo was discharged.

The United States reimposedsanctionson Iran in November after pulling out of a 2015 accord involving Tehran and six world powers that limited Iran's nuclear programme.

Aiming to cut Iran'soilsales to zero, Washington in May ended sanction waivers given to some importers of Iranianoil.

Iranian officials were not immediately available for comment.

Fax toChina's Foreign Ministry asking for comment was not immediately answered.

Responding to a Reuters request for comment on its reaction to thenamechange, aUS State Department spokesman said on Aug. 1: "We do not preview oursanctionsactivities, but we will continue to look for ways to impose costs on Iran in aneffortto convince the Iranian regime that its campaign of destabilising activities will entail significant costs."

After departing Port Dickson, thetankersailed past Singapore to the southeastern coast of Malaysia and on July 25 it transmitted that its cargo tanks were nearly full

As of August 14, the ship remains there, ship-tracking data shows.

The origin of oilcargo could not be determined.