In June, the United States imposed sanctions on half a dozen oil tankers managed by established shipping firms. It was a major escalation of American attempts to choke off Venezuela’s oil trade. Satellite image captured by Planet Labs and verified by TankerTrackers.com, shows the Alastayir oil tanker (green, top) in a position to conduct a ship-to-ship transfer of crude with the Afra Royal oil tanker (bottom, red) in the Straits of Malacca, Malaysia October 17, 2020. Planet Labs/via REUTERS Within weeks, a little-known company based in the United Arab Emirates took over management of several tankers that had been shipping Venezuelan oil. The vessels got new names. And then they resumed transporting Venezuelan crude. The company, Muhit Maritime FZE, is one of three UAE-based entities identified by Reuters that have shipped Venezuelan crude and fuel during the second half of this year. Their role emerges […]