The US-Coast Guard is said to have attempted to seize another US-sanctioned oil tanker in the Caribbean on Sunday. Coast guard ships are said to be off the coast Venezuela The AP news agency learned from informed sources that they had started tracking the tanker, which was traveling under a false flag. The Reuters news agency had previously reported on this, also citing official circles.
If the seizure was successful, this would be the case the second such deployment this weekend and the third in less than two weeks. Government officials did not provide any information about which ship it was or the exact location of the operation. No immediate comment was available from the White House.
Already on Saturday US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem confirmed in a post on Xthat an oil tanker carrying cargo from Venezuela had been seized in international waters. The government of presidents Nicolas Maduro in Caracas spoke of a “serious act of international piracy” and condemned it USA the “theft and hijacking” of the ship as well as the “forcible disappearance of the crew”.
Contradiction with US information
After Reports of the New York Times it was the tanker flying the Panamanian flag Centuriesthe oil from Venezuela China should bring. The ship is said to have not been on the US sanctions list and was stopped east of Barbados, according to British security firm Vanguard. If this is true, the seizure would contradict official US statements that it only takes action against sanctioned tankers.
The actions are part of a tightened US policy: President Donald Trump recently had one “Complete blockade” of all sanctioned Venezuelan oil tankers announced. Already last week another tanker had been confiscatedwhich US authorities attributed to an illegal network financing terrorist organizations. Venezuela also rejected these allegations.
No rising oil prices
The first two seized oil tankers were operating on the black market, said the director of the White House National Economic Council, Kevin Hassett, in an interview with CBS on Sunday. There is therefore no reason to worry that oil prices in the USA will rise as a result of the actions.
Since the seizures began Venezuela’s crude oil exports fell significantly. Most of Venezuela’s oil goes to China; So far, the impact on the world market remains limited. At the same time, Caracas receives political support from allies such as Iran, China and Russia, who express their solidarity with the government of President Nicolas Maduro have stated.
