Dec 21 (Reuters) — The U.S. Coast Guard is chasing an oil tanker in international waters close to Venezuela, officials said on Sunday. This is the second such operation this weekend and the third in less than two weeks if it succeeds.
A U.S. official stated, “The United States Coast Guard is actively pursuing a sanctioned dark fleet vessel involved in Venezuela’s illegal sanctions evasion. It is flying a false flag and is under a judicial seizure order.”
Another official confirmed the tanker is under sanctions but noted it hasn’t been boarded yet. Interceptions can happen in various ways, including by positioning nearby ships or aircraft.
Officials, speaking anonymously, did not specify the operation's location or the name of the vessel being tracked. However, U.S. maritime security sources and the British maritime risk management group Vanguard identified the tanker as Bella 1, a crude oil carrier on the Treasury Department's sanctions list.
According to TankerTrackers.com, Bella 1 was empty as it approached Venezuela on Sunday. In 2021, it transported oil from Venezuela to China, as per internal documents from the state company PDVSA, and had previously carried Iranian crude.
TRUMP'S PRESSURE CAMPAIGN
The White House has not yet commented on the situation.
Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump announced a “blockade” of all sanctioned oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela.
Trump's campaign against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has included increasing military presence in the region and over two dozen military actions against vessels in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea near South America, resulting in at least 100 deaths.
Kevin Hassett, director of the White House’s National Economic Council, mentioned in a television interview that the first two seized oil tankers were involved in the black market, supplying oil to sanctioned countries. He assured that U.S. consumers shouldn't worry about rising prices due to these seizures, stating, “There are just a couple of them, and they were black market ships.”
However, one oil trader indicated that the seizures could lead to a slight increase in oil prices when Asian markets reopen on Monday. UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo suggested that prices could see a modest rise since the tanker intercepted on Saturday was not under U.S. sanctions, which may heighten concerns about other Venezuelan oil barrels.
Another analyst warned that these seizures raise geopolitical tensions and may create more friction among vessels transporting oil from countries like Venezuela, Russia, and Iran that face sanctions. The actions could also potentially empower Ukraine in its efforts to target Russian vessels and motivate Europe to detain similar vessels linked to Moscow, according to Matias Togni, an oil shipping analyst at NextBarrel.