The US Coast Guard is pursuing an oil tanker in international waters near Venezuela, officials said on Sunday, in what would be the second such operation at the weekend and the third in less than two weeks if successful.
“The United States Coast Guard is in active pursuit of a sanctioned ‘dark fleet’ vessel that is part of Venezuela’s illegal sanctions evasion,” a US official said. “It is flying a false flag and under a judicial seizure order.”
Another official said the tanker was under sanctions, but added that it had not been boarded so far and that interceptions can take different forms — including by sailing or flying close to vessels of concern.
Photo: AFP
The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, did not give a specific location for the operation or name the vessel being pursued.
British maritime risk management group Vanguard, along with a US maritime security source, identified the vessel as Bella 1, a large crude oil carrier that was added last year to the sanctions list of the US Department of the Treasury, which said the vessel has links to Iran.
Bella 1 was empty when it was approaching Venezuela on Sunday, according to TankerTrackers.com.
The vessel had in 2021 provided transportation for Venezuela’s oil to China, internal documents from state-run oil company PDVSA showed.
It had also previously carried Iranian crude, according to the vessel monitoring service.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday.
US President Donald Trump last week announced a “blockade” of all oil tankers under sanctions entering and leaving Venezuela.
Trump’s pressure campaign on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has included a ramped-up military presence in the region and more than two dozen military strikes on vessels in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea near the South American nation. At least 100 people have been killed in the attacks.
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