U.S. Seizes Fifth Sanctioned Oil Tanker as Pressure Campaign Grows

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.“There is no safe haven for criminals,” the command wrote. American forces have now seized five tankers belonging to a “shadow fleet” of unregistered tankers that carry embargoed oil from Russia, Iran and Venezuela around the globe.The seizures started as a pressure campaign on President Nicolás Maduro before he was apprehended in a bold American raid on Venezuela. The campaign is continuing to pressure Venezuela’s interim government as the Trump administration seeks to control the country’s 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 country’s 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 — formerly known as the Bella 1 — in the North Atlantic on Wednesday.“We welcome this decision and express our gratitude to the U.S. leadership,” a spokeswoman for the ministry, Maria Zakharova said in a statement.“We are embarking on an urgent practical study of all issues related to ensuring the speedy return of our compatriots to their homeland,” 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 Venezuela’s oil industry “pursuant 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 “on the water,” the Wall Street Journal has reported. Data firm Vortexa calls the buildup of oil “unprecedented.” The firm says Chinese and Indian players — at least temporarily — 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 “be turning over” between 30 million to 50 million barrels of oil to be shipped to the United States. Most of Venezuela’s 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 Venezuela’s oil infrastructure. Chevron is the only American company currently operating in the country.

U.S. Seizes Fifth Sanctioned Oil Tanker as Pressure Campaign Grows

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