The United States on Wednesday seized two oil tankers allegedly linked to Venezuelan crude exports in back-to-back operations in the North Atlantic and the Caribbean Sea, following a weeks-long pursuit as part of Washington’s effort to enforce an oil blockade on Venezuela, Reuters reported.
The first vessel, now named The Marinera and sailing under a Russian flag, was boarded by US forces in the North Atlantic as it travelled between Iceland and Scotland after being tracked for more than two weeks, BBC reported.
The tanker was previously known as Bella-1 and had earlier avoided a US Coast Guard attempt to board it near Venezuela, AFP reported.
The US military said that the ship was seized under a warrant issued by a US federal court for violating US sanctions.
Russian military vessels, including a submarine, were reported to be in the general area, but unidentified US officials told Reuters that there was no confrontation.
Russia’s transport ministry said it had lost contact with the tanker after US forces boarded it in international waters.
Moscow said the ship had been granted “temporary permission” to sail under the Russian flag on December 24 and argued that “no state has the right to use force against vessels duly registered under the jurisdiction of other states”, AFP reported.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt described the ship as a “Venezuelan shadow fleet vessel”.
“The blockade of sanctioned and illicit Venezuelan oil remains in full effect – anywhere in the world,” US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said.
The United Kingdom’s Navy gave logistical support to the US operation by air and sea, the BBC reported.
In a separate operation the same day, the US Department of War, in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security, intercepted a second tanker, the Panama-flagged M/T Sophia, in the Caribbean.
The US military’s southern command in a social media post described it as a “stateless, sanctioned dark fleet motor tanker” that was “conducting illicit activities”.
“We will defend our homeland and restore security and strength across the Americas,” the statement added.
The seizures come days after the US military on Saturday abducted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in an overnight operation.
The US has accused Maduro of narco terrorism and drug trafficking, among other crimes – allegations that the Venezuelan government rejects. Caracas has described the US government’s actions as “military aggression” and has demanded that Maduro and Flores be immediately released.
Venezuela has the largest proven oil reserves in the world, but is not among the top 10 producers.
Since 2019, the South American country’s oil production and export have been sharply restricted after Donald Trump, in his first term as US president, imposed stringent sanctions. The curbs intensified last month, after Trump ordered a blockade of sanctioned oil vessels heading to and leaving Venezuela in December.
On Wednesday, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said that the country will control the sales of sanctioned Venezuelan oil “indefinitely”, a day after Trump announced that his country will get up to 50 million barrels of oil from Venezuela.
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