U.S. Seizes Fifth Sanctioned Oil Tanker as Pressure Campaign Grows
The Trump administration plans to take over distribution of Venezuelan oil.

American forces have boarded another oil tanker early Friday as the Trump administration continues a heightened enforcement of oil sanctions and a pressure campaign on Venezuela.
Marines and Navy sailors launched the pre-dawn raid from the USS Gerald R. Ford and apprehended the tanker Olina in the Caribbean Sea, the United States Southern Command said in an X post.
Video released by the command showed a helicopter approach the ship and lower armed personnel onto the deck of the ship. The seizure took place without incident, according to American authorities.
âThere is no safe haven for criminals,â the command wrote.
American forces have now seized five tankers belonging to a âshadow fleetâ of unregistered tankers that carry embargoed oil from Russia, Iran and Venezuela around the globe.
The seizures started as a pressure campaign on President NicolĂĄs Maduro before he was apprehended in a bold American raid on Venezuela. The campaign is continuing to pressure Venezuelaâs interim government as the Trump administration seeks to control the countryâs oil distribution.
The intelligence firm Windward estimates there are nearly 2,000 ships moving oil and other goods in efforts to avoid sanctions. Nearly 70 percent of the countryâs oil exports rely on the shadow fleet, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The seizures have the potential to heighten tension with Russia, especially since at least one of the seized tankers is claiming to be Russian-flagged. But the Trump administration has made a move to deescalate at least one diplomatic situation.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Friday that America has released two Russian crew members from the Marinera. American forces seized that ship â formerly known as the Bella 1 â in the North Atlantic on Wednesday.
âWe welcome this decision and express our gratitude to the U.S. leadership,â a spokeswoman for the ministry, Maria Zakharova said in a statement.
âWe are embarking on an urgent practical study of all issues related to ensuring the speedy return of our compatriots to their homeland,â her statement continued.
American forces had been tracking the tanker for more than two weeks after it made a U-turn in the waters off of Venezuela and headed across the ocean. The American military announced the ship was seized for violating sanctions against Venezuelaâs oil industry âpursuant to a warrant issued by a U.S. federal court.
The seizure campaign comes as the amount of crude oil at sea has seen a dramatic increase in recent months. An estimated 1.4 billion barrels of oil are on ships âon the water,â the Wall Street Journal has reported. Data firm Vortexa calls the buildup of oil âunprecedented.â The firm says Chinese and Indian players â at least temporarily â are constrained in taking in sanctioned oil, while there is an over-supply of non-sanctioned crude amid stagnant demand.
President Trump said this week that America was going to take over selling Venezuelan oil. He stated on Truth Social that Venezuela would âbe turning overâ between 30 million to 50 million barrels of oil to be shipped to the United States. Most of Venezuelaâs previous oil exports had gone to China.
Executives from the major oil companies were expected to meet at the White House on Friday to discuss the possibility of re-developing Venezuelaâs oil infrastructure. Chevron is the only American company currently operating in the country.
