THE HAGUE – Dutch MPs have asked whether oil tankers linked to Venezuela that have docked in Curaçao may have violated international maritime rules, including sanctions and flag registration requirements. The questions follow media reports suggesting that some vessels may have operated under false flags, switched off mandatory transponders and appeared on U.S. sanctions lists.
One vessel specifically mentioned is the tanker Regina, which reportedly delivered oil in Curaçao. According to the Curaçao Ports Authority, the ship sailed under the flag of East Timor. However, the MPs point out that East Timor has informed members of the International Maritime Organization that multiple ships have fraudulently used its flag and that all such registrations should be considered invalid.
The parliamentarians want to know whether this information was shared with Curaçao by Kingdom authorities and whether ships suspected of breaching international rules should be allowed to dock in ports within the Kingdom at all. They describe such scenarios as highly undesirable from both a legal and security perspective.
The questions also touch on the role of the Caribbean Coast Guard and whether its involvement automatically makes these cases a Kingdom responsibility, given that the Coast Guard operates under Kingdom authority.
