US ship detained by Venezuela in Guyana disputed waters

[EX500rider]

Source: BBC

"The government of Guyana says the Venezuelan navy has entered its territorial waters and detained a US-operated ship.

Guyana said the Venezuelan actions in the disputed Essequibo region constituted "a serious threat to peace in the region".

The ship belongs to Texas-based company Anadarko, which has been granted a contract to look for oil in the area.

Caracas has said the ship was operating illegally in Venezuelan waters."



Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-24500362

---

Should be interesting!

[Ash_F]

1. "The ship sails under a Panamanian flag and is owned by Singaporean marine surveying company."

Sounds like shenanigans to me.

[ManiacJoe]

3. Standard business practices.

Ships normally get registered/flagged in countries that have low costs and low inspection laws. This is why virtually all the cruise ships operating in the USA are registered elsewhere.

[Ash_F]

4. Standard tax dodging?

I knew a lot of American companies do this, but it is still shenanigans. A sure sign of a lack of scruples.

[ManiacJoe]

6. I think it has more to do with the inspection costs.

I could be wrong though.

[Ash_F]

7. Still shady.

Dodging regulations to save a buck. It is all part of a corrupt mindset. It is no wonder that these oil companies have huge spills with regularity.

[Sgent]

13. Jones act

is the biggest reason.

To be US flagged a ship must be built in the US. When you add the massive jones act liability plus the cost of the ship, it creates huge costs.

The only US Flagged commercial vessels are those that go from one US port to another -- those are required to carry a US Flag. That said, there are vessels that routinely go to non-US ports between 2 U S stops to avoid this requirement.

[dixiegrrrrl]

15. Same thing just happened with another US ship grabbed by India

That US ship, owned by private guard company, registered in Sierra Leone .
http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/us-ship-with-armed-guards-detained-at-tuticorin-no-papers-authorising-possession-of-arms-431775

[BluegrassStateBlues]

2. Send in the Seals. nt

[ManiacJoe]

5. But as a challenge

let's see the SEALs try to take the navy vessel instead of the merchant vessel.

[awoke_in_2003]

12. While that made me laugh...

I have to say- ship born navy personnel are ill equipped for actual combat, Seals are not. Unless a Seal team assaulted a carrier, they would probably win.

[Ash_F]

8. I see we've turned the crazy up to 11 already. /nt

[Mr.Bill]

9. You want the protection of the US Navy?

Then pay the piper and fly an American flag.

[Judi Lynn]

10. Venezuela Intercepts Ship With 5 Americans Aboard

Venezuela Intercepts Ship With 5 Americans Aboard
By WILLIAM NEUMAN
Published: October 11, 2013

CARACAS, Venezuela — Maps of Venezuela hanging on the walls of schoolrooms and in government offices show a large striped area to the east of the country’s border with Guyana marked “Zone in Reclamation.” For more than a century, Venezuela has claimed that it is the rightful owner of this zone, which consists of about three-quarters of Guyana’s national territory. The longstanding feud has often darkened relations between the two nations.

Now, five Americans on a research ship working under an oil exploration contract with the Guyanese government appear to have become ensnared in this dispute, which also involves clashing claims over territorial waters off Guyana’s coast and the right to drill for oil there.

The Guyanese Foreign Ministry said in a statement Friday that a Venezuelan naval vessel, the Yekuana, had obstructed the research ship’s passage in Guyanese waters a day earlier. The Venezuelan ship then began escorting the research ship toward Margarita Island in Venezuela, according to the statement, which said the crew was under arrest.

The research ship, the MV Teknik Perdana, had about 39 people on board, including five Americans, according to Peter Tatro, operations director of TDI-Brooks International, a Texas company that had chartered the vessel.

More:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/12/world/americas/venezuela-intercepts-ship-with-5-americans-aboard.html?_r=0

[davidpdx]

11. So how much heroin did this ship have on it?

Better consult Russia first.

[Miranda4peace]

14. This is kind of hilarious.