U.S. military seizes 2 Venezuela-linked oil tankers in North Atlantic and Caribbean, officials say

The U.S. carried out operations Wednesday to seize two oil tankers linked to Venezuela — one in the North Atlantic and one in the Caribbean Sea, officials said.

The U.S. European Command confirmed the seizure of the Marinera, a Venezuela-linked oil tanker formerly known as Bella-1. It said the vessel was seized for violations of U.S. sanctions and pursuant to a warrant issued by a U.S. federal court after being tracked by USCGC Munro.

The U.S. has been following the tanker since last month, and CBS News first reported on Monday that American forces were planning to intercept it. The pursuit began during a pressure campaign on former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who was captured by U.S. forces last weekend. Two other oil tankers were seized by the U.S. last month.

U.S. officials also announced on Wednesday that “a stateless, sanctioned dark fleet motor tanker” was seized before dawn in the Caribbean. U.S. Southern Command said in a post on X that the intercepted vessel, M/T Sophia, was “conducting illicit activities” and operating in international waters. 

Two U.S. officials told CBS News the Sophia was flying a Cameroonian flag and left Venezuela with oil on board. The U.S. judged the ship to be in violation of its embargo on Venezuela. The officials said the U.S. has full control of the vessel and no U.S. personnel were injured in the operation. The U.S. Coast Guard was escorting the vessel to the U.S. “for final disposition,” according to U.S. Southern Command.

The Marinera — which has historically carried Venezuelan crude oil and was sanctioned by the Treasury Department — was previously flagged out of Panama. Like other tankers that were seized, it was sanctioned by U.S. authorities for its prior involvement in Iranian oil trading. It is now sailing under the Russian flag.

A Russian submarine and other naval vessels had been deployed to escort the tanker as the U.S. followed it, two U.S. officials confirmed to CBS News on Tuesday.

Reuters first reported that the seizure was underway on Wednesday.

The Russian Maritime Register of Shipping lists the tanker as being ported out of Sochi, off the western coast of the Black Sea. The New York Times reported that the Russian government officially had asked the U.S. to stop all attempts to interdict the ship.  

The two officials familiar with the Marinera seizure plans said earlier this week that the U.S. would rather seize the ship than sink it and that the operation could be similar to the one conducted last month when U.S. Marines and special operation forces working with the U.S. Coast Guard seized The Skipper, a large crude oil tanker flagged out of Guyana, after the vessel had left port in Venezuela.

Ships like the Marinera and The Skipper are part of a so-called shadow fleet of ships that illegally transport oil from sanctioned nations like Russia, Iran and Venezuela.   

Maduro has rejected U.S. allegations about how the vessels are being used and accuses the U.S. of plundering Venezuelan resources under the cover of law enforcement.