WASHINGTON/SINGAPORE, Jan 9 (Reuters) – The United States has seized the Olina tanker in the Caribbean, the fifth tanker targeted in recent weeks as the United States steps up efforts to curb Venezuelan oil exports, U.S. officials said on Friday.
The Olina was falsely flying the East Timorese flag and had previously sailed from Venezuela and returned to the region, according to Equasis, a public shipping database, said an industry source with direct knowledge of the matter.
Marines and sailors from Joint Task Force Southern Spear, launched from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, captured the Olina “without incident” in the Caribbean Sea in a pre-dawn action, U.S. Southern Command said in a news release.
“Once again, our interagency force sent a clear message this morning: There is no safe haven for criminals.”
The Olina left Venezuela last week full of oil as part of a convoy shortly after the U.S. detained Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Jan. 3, and the ship returned fully loaded following the U.S. blockade on Venezuelan oil exports, industry sources said.
British maritime risk management firm Vanguard said separately: “The ship’s AIS tracking device was last active 52 days ago, within the Venezuelan EEZ, northeast of Curaçao.”
“The seizure follows a long-term pursuit of tankers linked to sanctioned Venezuelan oil shipments in the region.”
The U.S. government imposed sanctions on the Olina, named Minerva M, in January last year, saying it was part of a so-called shadow fleet that sailed with little regulation or known insurance.
The M Sofia was another tanker that was part of a convoy of more than a dozen ships that left Venezuela earlier this month and was seized by the U.S. military earlier this week.
The Skylin, Ming Hung and Merope ships, all fully loaded and part of the same convoy that left last week, returned to Venezuelan waters on Thursday, industry sources said.
Seven additional tankers in the convoy are also fully loaded and scheduled to return to Venezuelan waters on Friday and Saturday.
All of the oil on board these 10 tankers is owned by Venezuela’s state-run producer PDVSA, the official added. PDVSA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
It is unclear whether the U.S. will take action against other tankers en route to Venezuela.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday that the U.S. blockade on sanctioned Venezuelan oil remains in full effect “everywhere in the world.”
(Reporting by Idrees Ali, Phil Stewart, Chen Aizhu, Jonathan Saul; Writing by Jonathan Saul; Editing by Mark Potter, Hugh Lawson)
