Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
A fifth tanker linked to Venezuela has been banned by US forces in the Caribbean, US Southern Command confirmed Friday.
Two U.S. officials confirmed to CBS News that the Coast Guard, backed by the Navy, was seizing the oil tanker Olina.
Southern Command said Marines and sailors launched from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford for the pre-dawn operation to support the Department of Homeland Security in “its mission to defend our homeland by ending illicit activities and restoring security to the Western Hemisphere.”
The command posted unclassified footage on social media showing a U.S. helicopter landing on the ship and U.S. personnel searching the deck.
“Once again, our joint interagency forces sent a clear message this morning: ‘there is no safe haven for criminals,'” U.S. Southern Command said in a statement. X.
U.S. government records show the Olina was sanctioned for carrying Russian oil under its former name, Minerva M, and flying the flag of Panama, the Associated Press reported.
Although records show the Olina is now flying the flag of Timor-Leste, it is also listed in the International Shipping Registry as carrying a false flag, meaning the registration it claims is not valid, the AP reported. In July, the owner and manager of the ship when it was registered was changed to a Hong Kong company.
According to ship tracking databases, the Olina last transmitted its position in November in the Caribbean, north of the Venezuelan coast, the AP reported. Since then, however, the ship has been plunged into darkness and its locator beacon turned off.
The vessel has a nominal cargo capacity of up to 890,000 barrels of oil, which at the current market price of around $60 per barrel would be worth around $53 million.
The Olina is the fifth tanker seized by U.S. forces as part of a broader effort by President Trump’s administration to control the global distribution of Venezuelan oil products, following the United States. ouster of President Nicolas Maduro.
Two tankers were banned on Wednesday– one in the North Atlantic and one in the Caribbean Sea, officials said.
American command in Europe confirmed the seizure of the Marinera, a Venezuela-linked tanker, formerly known as Bella-1, in the North Atlantic after pursue him from the coasts of South America. United States Southern Command announcement that the other intercepted vessel, the M/T Sophia, was “carrying out illicit activities” in international waters of the Caribbean.
Ships like the Marinera are part of a so-called ghost fleet of ships that illegally transport oil from sanctioned countries like Russia, Iran and Venezuela.
Maduro has rejected U.S. allegations about how the ships are used and accuses the United States of plundering Venezuelan resources under the cover of law enforcement.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who shared a longer video of the seizure Friday, said the Olina was a “ghost fleet” tanker that left Venezuela, “in an attempt to escape U.S. forces.”
“Ghost fleets will not escape justice. They will not hide under false claims of nationality,” Noem said. X. “The Coast Guard will seize sanctioned tankers, enforce U.S. and international law, and eliminate these funding streams for illicit activities, including narcoterrorism.”
After Maduro’s capture by the United States earlier this month, Mr. Trump touted Venezuela’s oil wealth as a way to financially fuel the country’s economic recovery — and bring benefits to energy consumers and oil companies. He told Fox News’ Sean Hannity in an interview broadcast Thursday night that he expects oil companies to spend at least $100 billion to “rebuild the entire oil infrastructure” in the South American country.
Mr. Trump is meeting with leaders of the oil industry on Friday afternoon. The CEOs of Chevron, Exxon, ConocoPhillips, Continental, Halliburton, HKN, Valero, Marathon, Shell, Trafigura, Vitol Americas, Repsol, Eni, Aspect Holdings, Tallgrass, Raisa Energy and Hilcorp will be at the White House for the meeting.
