Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM) has confirmed it will hand back all the tankers it manages for Venezuela's PDVSA, saying it has become "almost impossible" to work with the government.

The manager is reported to operate 13 ships owned by PDVSA and two VLCCs jointly owned by the oil company and China’s PetroChina.

BSM Cyprus (BSM CY) managing director Nikolaos Kretsis told TradeWinds that the company has worked successfully in Venezuela for almost 25 years.