US Navy begins seizure of another sanctioned tanker, says Reuters

The US Navy has begun seizing another oil tanker in the Caribbean region, in what is set to be the fifth interdiction as Washington steps up controls on exports of Venezuelan crude, Reuters has reported.

Source: Reuters

Details: Reuters reported, citing an unnamed US official, that the US Navy is "in the process of seizing" the Olina tanker in the Caribbean near Trinidad and Tobago.

According to public shipping database Equasis, the Olina was sailing under a false Timor-Leste flag after leaving Venezuela and then making its way back to the region.

The operation to detain the tanker began on Friday 9 January, said an industry source with direct knowledge of the matter.

Quote: "The US imposed sanctions on the tanker in January last year, when it was named the Minerva M, for what Washington said was it being part of the so-called shadow fleet of ships that sail with little regulation or known insurance.

[This has been] the fifth such interdiction of ships in recent weeks as part of Washington's efforts to control Venezuelan oil exports."

Background:

• The US European Command said that the US Department of Justice and the US Department of Homeland Security have announced the seizure of the Russian-flagged tanker Marinera, formerly known as Bella-1, for violating US sanctions.
• Russia's Ministry of Transport said that the tanker seized by the United States in the Atlantic Ocean had a temporary permit to sail under the Russian flag.
• Vice President JD Vance said that the tanker Bella 1, later re-registered in Russia as Marinera, merely posed as Russian in order to circumvent sanctions and avoid accountability.
• The US Coast Guard has also seized another tanker in the Caribbean Sea that is subject to US sanctions and is linked to Russia's shadow fleet.
• Earlier reports said that around a dozen oil tankers loaded with Venezuelan crude oil and fuel had left the country's territorial waters in dark mode (with transponders switched off) since the start of the year.

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