A crew member aboard a Cuba-flagged oil tanker whose managing firm is Cyprus-registered Caroil Transport Marine Ltd was reported missing this week, according to Reuters.
The tanker named Petion was on its way from a Mexican shipyard to Venezuela when the incident happened – the second of its kind aboard the same vessel in about a year.
Both the Petion and its managing firm were hit with U.S. sanctions in 2019 for transporting Venezuelan oil to Cuba. The vessel was serviced in Mexico between March and May.
Caroil could not be reached for comment.
Sailor Rafael Desiderio Martinez Alonso was not found last Sunday by the doctor onboard the oil tanker which set sail on May 6 from Mexico’s port of Veracruz bound for the Cardon terminal in Venezuela’s western coast.
The report by the tanker’s shipping agency to Venezuelan port authorities about the incident said Martinez Alonso, who was one the tanker’s fitters, is believed to have fallen into open waters because his shoes were found near the ship’s gas plant. He has not officially been reported dead.
The tanker’s general alarm was activated the same day to start search and rescue operations, but after 24 hours the sailor was not found, said the report, which is dated May 11.
