US Coast Guard Pursues Third Sanction-Evading Oil Tanker Off Venezuela

U.S. authorities reported that the Coast Guard pursued a sanctioned oil tanker in international waters off Venezuela.

“US coastguard ‘remains in active pursuit’ of a sanctioned dark fleet vessel trying to evade sanctions on Venezuela, an official says”

Al Jazeera

Maritime trackers and several outlets identified the vessel as the very large crude carrier Bella 1.

Al Jazeera

The pursuit occurred amid an intensified campaign to stop vessels said to be evading U.S. sanctions.

Officials described the vessel as part of a sanctions-evasion dark/shadow fleet and accused it of flying a false flag.

They said the ship was subject to a judicial seizure order.

Tracking data showed the ship was empty as it approached Venezuelan waters.

U.S. statements presented the operation as a law-enforcement action enforcing sanctions and following a White House directive to block sanctioned tankers to and from Venezuela.

U.S. officials repeatedly described the action as backed by a judicial seizure order and tied it to a broader White House campaign that President Trump framed as a blockade of 'sanctioned oil vessels'.

U.S. spokespeople and some outlets said the moves target a 'shadow' or 'dark' fleet used to evade sanctions.

ANI News

Tracker firms and industry sources provided vessel identifications and historical AIS records that several reports say show prior voyages carrying Venezuelan crude to China and earlier carriage of Iranian cargo.

Venezuela denounced the interdictions as 'theft,' 'piracy' and 'corsair tactics'.

President Nicolás Maduro and Caracas officials promised diplomatic and legal responses.

Moscow and Beijing warned that the U.S. actions risk destabilizing the region.

Multiple sources reported Venezuelan accusations that crew members were mistreated or forcibly disappeared.

Foreign ministries in Russia and China publicly criticized the U.S. posture.

Reporting placed the pursuit in the context of multiple recent interceptions and heightened U.S. naval activity around Venezuela.

Earlier seizures of the tankers Skipper and Centuries were widely reported, and officials said the latest action was the second operation that weekend and the third in under two weeks.

Beritaja

Tracker and PDVSA records cited in several outlets showed historical movements linking the targeted ships to past Venezuelan crude shipments and occasional prior carriage of Iranian oil, and maritime analysts cautioned about the legal and practical challenges of policing a so-called shadow fleet.

Analysts and some reporting flagged economic and geopolitical implications.

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China Daily

U.S. officials and advisers framed the seizures as targeting a small number of 'black market' ships unlikely to materially affect U.S. fuel prices.

China Daily

However, analysts and regional experts warned the campaign could shrink Venezuela's oil revenue, force rapid export drops, fill storage, and potentially trigger production cuts.

They also cautioned that escalatory U.S. naval activity risks regional instability.

Human-rights and legal critics raised concerns about strikes on vessels and reported casualties in related operations.

Different outlets cited varying casualty figures for strikes and warned of potential extrajudicial outcomes.