US pursuing third oil tanker near Venezuela, officials say

The U.S. Coast Guard is pursuing an oil tanker in international waters near Venezuela, officials told Reuters on Sunday, marking the second such operation this weekend and potentially the third in less than two weeks if the effort is successful.

“The United States Coast Guard is in active pursuit of a sanctioned ‘dark fleet’ vessel that is part of Venezuela’s illegal sanctions evasion,” a U.S. official said. “It is flying a false flag and is under a judicial seizure order.”

Another official confirmed that the tanker is under U.S. sanctions but said it has not yet been boarded. Interceptions can take different forms, including sailing or flying close to vessels of concern.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, did not disclose the exact location of the operation or identify the vessel by name.

British maritime risk management firm Vanguard, along with a U.S. maritime security source, identified the ship as Bella 1, a very large crude oil carrier added last year to the U.S. Treasury Department’s sanctions list due to its links to Iran.

According to TankerTrackers.com, Bella 1 was empty as it approached Venezuela on Sunday. Internal documents from Venezuela’s state-run oil company PDVSA show the vessel transported Venezuelan oil to China in 2021. Vessel monitoring services also indicate it previously carried Iranian crude.

Trump’s Pressure Campaign

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday.

Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump announced a “blockade” on all sanctioned oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela as part of his administration’s pressure campaign against President Nicolas Maduro.

That campaign has included an increased U.S. military presence in the region and more than two dozen military strikes on vessels in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea near Venezuela. At least 100 people have reportedly been killed in the attacks.

The Skipper, a very large crude carrier and the first Venezuela-related vessel seized by the United States on December 10, arrived Sunday at the Galveston Offshore Lightering Area near Houston. Because very large crude carriers cannot navigate the Houston Ship Channel due to depth restrictions, they typically offload oil to smaller tankers at the site.

White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said in a television interview on Sunday that the first two oil tankers seized were operating on the black market and supplying oil to sanctioned countries.

“I don’t think people in the U.S. need to worry that prices will go up because of these seizures,” Hassett said on CBS’ Face the Nation. “There are only a couple of ships, and they were black market vessels.”

Oil prices rose in early Asian trading on Monday. Brent crude futures increased by 42 cents, or 0.7%, to $60.89 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 37 cents, or 0.7%, to $56.89 a barrel.

UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said traders may view the vessel seizures as an escalation that puts more Venezuelan oil supplies at risk, particularly since a tanker intercepted on Saturday was not under U.S. sanctions.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on Wednesday that the country’s oil trade will continue despite U.S. actions. However, analysts warned that Washington’s increased focus on oil tankers raises geopolitical risks and could significantly reduce Venezuela’s oil revenue.

Francisco Monaldi, director of the Latin America Energy Program at Rice University’s Baker Institute, said the impact could be felt quickly as Venezuela’s export volumes decline and storage tanks fill faster, potentially forcing the OPEC member to cut production. -Reporting by Idrees Ali; Additional reporting by Steve Holland, Arathy Somasekhar, Jonathan Saul, Marianna Parraga and Shariq Khan; Writing by Helen Coster; Editing by Costas Pitas, Andrew Heavens, Sergio Non, Chizu Nomiyama, Paul Simao and Diane Craft/Reuters