Cargo Business Newswire

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Venezuela owes shipping lines up to $1 billion

Venezuelan state agencies have accrued close to $1 billion (695 million pounds) in debts with shipping firms due to delays in returning containers, potentially boosting the cost of importing goods as the country struggles with product shortages and an economic crisis.

The agencies have held containers for months or simply never returned them, at times leaving the boxes for years in oil industry facilities or on provincial farms even though this costs $100 per-day per container, according to industry sources.

The debts have piled up over the last six years,

coinciding with a steady rise in the role of state agencies in importing goods to Venezuela, particularly food. The country is served by industry giants such as Maersk Line and Hamburg Süd.

The container debts put shipping lines on a long list of industries ranging from international airlines to telecommunications giants that have complained of being unable to collect on billions of dollars in unpaid Venezuelan bills.

For more of the Reuters story: www.reuters.com