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U.S. Seizes Seventh Crude Oil Tanker Linked to Venezuelan Trade

oil tanker seized
The U.S. seized the seventh crude oil tanker linked to the Venezuelan oil trade (Southern Command)

Published Jan 20, 2026 5:43 PM by The Maritime Executive


Southern Command announced this afternoon, January 20, that U.S. military forces have seized a seventh crude oil tanker. Few details were provided with the statement, only saying the apprehension took place without incident.

In announcing the seizure, the U.S. again declared that “the only oil leaving Venezuela will be oil that is coordinated properly and lawfully.” Southern Command asserted that the tanker was “operating in defiance of President Trump’s established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean.”

The ship, which had been sanctioned by the United States at the beginning of 2025, as well as sanctions by the European Union and the UK, is different in its modus operandi. Built in 2005, the tanker is 106,433 dwt and has been operating since 2022 under the name Sagitta. Unlike most of the shadow fleet, it has not bothered to change its name, but is reported to have used “zombie” identities.

The analytics service TankerTrackers.com reports the ship had operated for three years exporting Russian oil, but appeared to stop after the January 2025 sanctions. It, however, reports the tanker was tracked exporting fuel oil out of Venezuela in August 2025, using a zombie alias.

The Equasis database lists the vessel’s owners and managers as being in China. The ship was previously flagged in Panama and Liberia, but since 2024 has been operating without a flag registry. Lloyd’s Register lists its class certification as withdrawn in December 2024. The last port state inspection appears to have been in 2023.

 

 

The seizure comes as other reports have said some of the previously seized tankers were spotted off Puerto Rico, while the Bella 1 (Marinera) was last seen arriving in Scotland last week to re-provision. Russia’s Foreign Minister today asserted that the United States has not followed through on its commitment to release the two Russian crewmembers aboard the tanker.

Russia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergey Lavrov, told reporters in Moscow that “We were assured that a decision had been made at the highest level to secure their release.” He called on the U.S. to release the crew of the Bella 1 (Minerva) after Russia declared that the U.S. statement that the crew of the tanker might face prosecution is “categorically unacceptable.”

Trump has vowed the U.S. will seize shadow fleet tankers operating in the Caribbean and sell the oil. Like the Bella 1, it appears today’s seizure is of a vessel traveling only with ballast.