The United States Coast Guard intercepted, this Sunday (12/21), a Panamanian-flagged oil tanker transporting Venezuelan oil in international waters in the Caribbean, close to the coast of Venezuela. The information was released by The New York Times.
Follow the Correio channel on WhatsApp and receive the main news of the day on your cell phone
According to the American newspaper, the ship approached, called Centuries, had recently left Venezuela bound for Asia and was carrying between 1.8 million and 2 million barrels of Merey-16 crude oil, shipped at the José Terminal between December 7th and 11th.
According to a US official and two sources in the Venezuelan oil industry, who spoke to the American newspaper on condition of anonymity, the vessel is not on the public list of entities sanctioned by the US Treasury Department. Still, the cargo would belong to a China-based oil trader with a history of shipping Venezuelan oil to Chinese refineries.
On Saturday (12/20), a second ship was intercepted, this one would not be on the list of ships sanctioned by the Treasury Department.
Block
On Tuesday (12/15), President Donald Trump announced a “total and complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela”, accusing the Maduro government of financing illegal activities through oil exports. The president also stated, without providing evidence, that the Venezuelan leader was linked to sending fentanyl to the United States and stealing oil from American companies.
The US Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, stated in a publication on X that the Coast Guard had “detained” an oil tanker that had been anchored in Venezuela. According to her, the country will continue to pursue the illicit transportation of sanctioned oil, which, according to the American government, would be used to finance narcoterrorism in the region.
Still according to the American official interviewed by the New York Timesthe US does not have a seizure warrant to take possession of the vessel, unlike what happened at the beginning of the month, when another oil tanker was seized with judicial authorization.
The Coast Guard is trying to verify that the Centuries’ Panamanian registration is legitimate. Despite this, what is known so far is that the tanker has no known connection with Iran. American authorities, however, claim that the ship is part of what they call a “ghost fleet”, a group of vessels that adopt deceptive navigation practices.
In early December, armed U.S. agents seized the oil tanker Skipper, which was operating under a false flag and was under sanctions for transporting Iranian oil.
Giovanna Sfalsin
Reporter
Journalism student at Centro Universitário IESB, with experience in the Cities editorship of Correio Braziliense and in press relations. Currently, CB-Online reporter
