Several oil tankers carrying Venezuelan crude have been grounded for months

Four supertankers, each capable of carrying 8 million barrels of oil, have been stranded near the Latin American country since December, ship tracking data compiled by Bloomberg show.

By Bloomberg

Four supertankers, each capable of carrying 8 million barrels of oil, have been stranded near the Latin American country since December, ship tracking data compiled by Bloomberg show.

The two vessels were chartered by Polish oil refiner Orlen SA, but for deliveries to buyers in Asia, according to the cargo schedule. The company confirmed, without naming names, that its Swiss trading unit has booked at least one vessel to carry Venezuelan oil.

Vitol Group, the world's largest independent oil trader, has leased an idled vessel off the country's coast, people familiar with the deal said.

Arlen did not respond to requests for comment. Vitol declined to comment.

Delays have meant ships have racked up millions of dollars in bills without delivering cargo.

Charterers who book ships are sometimes required to pay a holding fee called demurrage. For some ships near Venezuela, those fees can exceed $100,000 a day, people familiar with the matter said. This means a three-month delay costs $9 million.