U.S. Seizes Fifth Tanker in Campaign to Block Venezuelan Oil Exports
U.S. forces seized the tanker Olina in the Caribbean, the fifth recent capture aimed at disrupting embargoed Venezuelan oil shipments tied to a shadow fleet.
Overview
U.S. forces seized Motor/Tanker Olina pre-dawn in the Caribbean Sea, launched from USS Gerald R. Ford; operation led by Coast Guard and Joint Task Force Southern Spear without incident.
Authorities say Olina is part of a 'ghost fleet' moving embargoed Venezuelan oil, used false Timor-Leste registration and inactive AIS tracking to evade enforcement.
The seizure is the fifth in recent weeks, following Bella 1/Marinera and Sophia captures, reflecting an intensified U.S. campaign to choke off Venezuela's sanctioned oil exports.
Kremlin protested earlier seizures; Russia thanked U.S. after two Russian crew were released, while President Trump said Russian naval assets briefly approached and then withdrew.
U.S. officials assert seizures enforce sanctions and disrupt illicit financing, but actions raise legal questions about maritime authority and risk escalating tensions with Russia and Venezuela.
Analysis
Center-leaning sources frame the interdictions as law-enforcement successes and security imperatives. Editorial choices prioritize U.S. military and administration statements and operational details early, while source content (e.g., 'ghost fleet,' 'no safe haven for criminals') is quoted; legal analysis and Maduro/Kremlin rebuttals are brief, reducing counterarguments.
Sources (26)
FAQ
The U.S. is seizing tankers such as the Olina to enforce sanctions on Venezuela’s oil sector, disrupt a “shadow” or “ghost” fleet used to move embargoed Venezuelan crude, and cut off oil revenues Washington says finance Nicolás Maduro’s government and related illicit activities.
The shadow or ghost fleet is a loosely regulated network of hundreds of oil tankers with opaque ownership, false flag registrations, and often manipulated tracking data that carry oil from sanctioned countries such as Venezuela, Russia, and Iran in order to evade international sanctions and price caps.
According to U.S. officials and shipping records, the Olina recently loaded oil in or near Venezuelan waters, falsely flew the flag of Timor-Leste, and operated with inactive or deceptive AIS location tracking to conceal its movements and sanctions‑violating trade.
Critics argue that boarding and seizing foreign‑linked tankers on the high seas under a self-declared global blockade stretches U.S. maritime jurisdiction and could conflict with principles of freedom of navigation and international law, raising questions about the legal basis for such extraterritorial enforcement.
Venezuela has sharply protested the expanding U.S. seizure campaign as an illegal blockade of its oil exports, while the Kremlin has lodged protests over earlier captures but also thanked the U.S. after two Russian crew members were released, underscoring tensions even as both sides have tried to limit direct confrontation at sea.
History
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