Many oil tankers carrying Venezuelan crude oil reserves have been blocked for months.

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

by bloomberg

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

According to the freight program, the two vessels were chartered by Polish oil refiner Orlen SA, but for delivery to buyers in Asia. The company confirmed in December, without naming names, that its Swiss trading arm had booked at least one ship to transport Venezuelan oil.

Vitol Group, the world’s largest independent oil trader, also has an idle vessel on lease off the country’s coast, people familiar with the contract said.

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

Delays mean ships are racking up millions of dollars in bills without delivering cargo.

Charterers booking a vessel are sometimes required to pay a holding fee, also known as a demurrage. For some ships near Venezuela, rates exceed $100,000 a day, people familiar with the matter said. That means a three-month delay could cost $9 million.