Seized tankers return to Venezuela amid U.S. sanctions
At least four tankers, most of them loaded, that had departed from Venezuela in early January in “dark mode” — with their transponders off amid a strict U.S. blockade — are now back in the South American country’s waters, according to state company PDVSA and monitoring service TankerTrackers.com, reports BritPanorama.
A flotilla of about a dozen loaded vessels and at least three other empty ships left Venezuelan waters last month in apparent defiance of an embargo imposed by President Donald Trump since mid-December, which has dragged down the country’s oil exports to a minimum.
One of the ships, the Panama-flagged supertanker M Sophia, was intercepted and seized by the U.S. this week when returning to the country; while another, the Aframax tanker Olina, with a flag from Sao Tome and Principe, was intercepted but released to Venezuela on Friday, according to PDVSA.
Three more vessels from that flotilla, the Panama-flagged Merope, Cook Islands-flagged Min Hang, and Panama-flagged Thalia III, were spotted by TankerTrackers.com in Venezuelan waters late on Friday through satellite images.
U.S. authorities stated on Friday that Olina — previously known as Minerva M — would be freed. This follows the capture and extraction of President Nicolas Maduro by the U.S. last week. The next step for Venezuela would be to begin organized crude exports as part of a $2 billion oil supply deal being negotiated with Washington.
During a meeting with top oil company executives on Friday, Trump indicated that arrangements for the supply had progressed. Global trading houses Vitol and Trafigura received the first U.S. licenses this week to negotiate and carry Venezuela’s exports, with naphtha supplies to the OPEC country also reportedly expected, sources have disclosed.
This series of developments underscores the ongoing complexities of U.S.-Venezuela relations and the challenges of enforcing international sanctions amid evolving geopolitical scenarios.
