Venezuela’s state-run oil company PDVSA said on Thursday it has not halted business with maritime contractor Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM), after the German firm notified it would remove crews operating 10 of 15 PDVSA vessels over unpaid fees and return the tankers. PDVSA’s maritime arm PDV Marina declared an emergency on Tuesday due to lack of staff to immediately receive the vessels that BSM proposed to return to Venezuelan ports due to unpaid bills of at least $15 million. The vessels – Nereo, Proteo, Zeus, Hero, Eos, Teseo, Rio Caroni, Rio Apure, Rio Orinoco and Arita – had BSM crews onboard on Thursday, a source from the company said, adding that payment is being negotiated with PDVSA. Three other vessels […]