US seizes fifth Russian shadow fleet tanker in Caribbean Sea

The United States has seized another oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea, the fifth such vessel intercepted in recent weeks, as Washington ramps up efforts to curb Venezuela's oil exports.

Source: Reuters, citing US officials, as reported by European Pravda

Details: The tanker, the Olina, was sailing under the flag of Timor-Leste, according to the public shipping database Equasis. An industry source familiar with the matter said the tanker had previously left Venezuela and then returned to the region.

The US Southern Command said in a post on X (Twitter) that US marines and sailors from Joint Task Force Southern Spear, operating from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, had intercepted the Olina in the Caribbean Sea "without incident" in a pre-dawn action.

"Once again, our joint interagency forces sent a clear message this morning: 'there is no safe haven for criminals'," the Command said.

An industry source said the Olina tanker had left Venezuela last week fully loaded with oil as part of a flotilla that departed shortly after the US detained Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on 3 January. The vessel was returning to Venezuela still laden following the US blockade on Venezuelan oil exports.

"The vessel's AIS (location) tracker was last active 52 days ago in the Venezuelan EEZ, northeast of Curaçao," Vanguard, a British maritime risk management company, said separately. "The seizure follows a prolonged pursuit of tankers linked to sanctioned Venezuelan oil shipments in the region."

The US imposed sanctions on the Olina in January 2025, when it was known as the Minerva M, saying it was part of the so-called shadow fleet of vessels sailing without proper regulation or known insurance.

Another tanker, the M Sophia, which was also part of a flotilla of around a dozen vessels that left Venezuela earlier this month, was seized by US forces earlier this week.

The industry source told Reuters that three tankers – Skylyn, Min Hang and Merope, all fully loaded and part of the same flotilla that departed last week – had returned to Venezuelan waters on Thursday 8 January.

The source said that a further seven tankers from the same flotilla, also fully loaded, were expected to return to Venezuelan waters on Friday and Saturday.

All the oil aboard these 10 tankers belongs to Venezuela's state-owned oil company PDVSA, the source added.

It is not yet known whether Washington will take action against other tankers heading towards Venezuela.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday that the US blockade on sanctioned Venezuelan oil remains in force "anywhere in the world".

Background:

• US forces took control of two tankers on 7 January, including a Russian-flagged vessel Bella 1 (Marinera) that they had pursued for more than two weeks. The vessels are accused of breaching sanctions.
• US Vice President JD Vance said the Bella 1 (later re-registered in Russia as the Marinera) was merely posing as a Russian tanker to avoid accountability.
• Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova claimed that following a request from Moscow, US President Donald Trump had ordered the release of two Russian citizens who were crew members on the Bella 1 tanker.

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