US: Media “in active pursuit” of third oil ship close to Venezuela
US: According to US news reports on Sunday, the US is “in active pursuit” of a third oil ship in international seas off the coast of Venezuela.
“A sanctioned shadow fleet vessel involved in Venezuela’s unlawful sanctions evasion is being actively pursued by the US Coast Guard. A US source told NBC News, “It is operating under a judicial seizure order and flying a false flag.”
Earlier on Sunday, Bloomberg News reported that US troops boarded the Bella 1, a tanker, its route to Venezuela to carry goods. Later, it said that the pursuit is still ongoing.
According to the Xinhua news agency, if the oil tanker is apprehended, it would be the third one connected to the oil-rich South American country that the US has stopped in less than two weeks.
The Centuries, a Panamanian-flagged supertanker that is not on Washington’s sanctions list, was boarded by the US Coast Guard off Venezuela one day before. The Centuries’ crude oil came from Venezuela’s state-owned oil business, Petróleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA), which is subject to US sanctions, according to White House spokesman Anna Kelly on X.
On December 10, US soldiers declared their intention to retain the oil cargo on board the tanker Skipper after seizing it close to Venezuelan seas.
On December 16, US President Donald Trump said that the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro had been classified as a “foreign terrorist organization” and ordered a “total and complete blockade” of sanctioned vessels entering or departing the country.
There are still dozens of ships on the US sanctions list operating in Venezuelan seas, according to oil-shipping watchdog TankerTrackers.com. Since oil exports make up the great bulk of Venezuela’s foreign income, they are often regarded as the foundation of the country’s economy.
Venezuela has denounced the interception of oil tankers as “piracy” and accused Washington of attempting to overthrow the current government and increase its military presence in Latin America.