Sanctioned Tanker Reaches Venezuela After Being Tracked by US Destroyer

A sanctioned tanker reached the anchorage in Venezuela on Sunday, November 23, after having turned away several times when a U.S. destroyer appeared on its route. Maritime AI data analytics firm Windward reports it is part of a continuing growth in Russian imports supporting Venezuela’s oil operations.

The Seahorse, a 70,246-dwt tanker which was built in 2004, has been in the Caribbean since October, and last week Bloomberg reported it had three times turned away as it appeared bound to Venezuela. Each time, the American destroyer USS Stockdale had been spotted in the path of the vessel, although it does not appear they had any direct interaction. It is unclear if the U.S. was intentionally blocking the vessel or not, but it appears to have spooked the crew on the sanctioned tanker.

The tanker claims a flag of Comoros, which Equasis reports as false, and it was listed in 2025 by both the EU and UK for sanction violations. The vessel is considered to be part of the shadow fleet, having reported multiple name changes and flags. In the past, United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) has also reported that the vessel was being used in the Iran to Venezuela trade, with both Russia and Iran supporting Venezuela’s need for distillate products to maintain its oil operations.

 

Seahorse's erratic routing (courtesy of Windward)

 

Windward points to an irregular sailing pattern of the vessel for a week. They report it showed multiple course changes and had been acting erratically since October. It had gone to Cuba and turned back to Venezuela only to briefly reverse course at one point in November. 

The vessel had been holding off Aruba at the end of last week and then turned for its approach to Venezuela. It anchored in the Puerto La Cruz anchorage without further incident.

The ship followed a second sanctioned tanker that also arrived in Venezuela over the weekend. The Russian-flagged product tanker Vasily Lanovoy (49,999 dwt) had departed Russia’s Ust Luga on October 28 and arrived at Venezuela’s Jose Terminal on November 23 without incident. The vessel, which was built in 2016, has been in the Russian registry since 2023 and is reported to be owned by the Russian construction company TransStory and managed by Gazprom. It was sanctioned by the U.S. in May 2024 and in the third quarter of 2025 by both the EU and the UK. It was also transporting a Russian light oil to be used as a distillate. 

Windward highlights that Venezuela turned to Russia in 2025 for its deliveries after the Trump administration cut it off. The U.S. had been permitting deliveries of the oil, which is used to thin Venezuela’s crude. Iran has also supplied Venezuela. Windward reports Venezuela has tripled the amount of Russian imports in 2025.

Officials in the U.S. declined to comment on the incident and whether there had been an attempt to block the vessel.