The United States says it's handing over a tanker to Venezuela that it seized earlier this month, according to two U.S. officials, marking the first known case of President Donald Trump’s administration returning such a vessel, Reuters reported.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the tanker being transferred to Venezuelan authorities is the Panama-flagged supertanker M/T Sophia. They did not give a reason for the decision.
The U.S. Coast Guard, which leads interdiction and seizure operations, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Venezuelan communications ministry, which handles all press queries for the government, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The move comes as Washington continues enforcement actions against vessels linked to Venezuelan oil exports under U.S. sanctions. In recent weeks, U.S. forces have seized several tankers suspected of transporting Venezuelan crude in violation of those sanctions.
Two previously seized Venezuela-linked tankers, including M/T Sophia, were recently seen anchored near Puerto Rico after disappearing from tracking systems, highlighting the scale of U.S. maritime operations targeting what officials describe as a “shadow fleet” moving sanctioned oil.
The United States has imposed energy sanctions on Venezuela since 2019, with the aim of restricting oil exports and pressuring Caracas over governance and security concerns.
The Sophia was carrying oil when it was interdicted on 7 January by the Coast Guard and U.S. military forces. At the time, the administration said the Sophia, which is under sanctions, was a "stateless, sanctioned dark fleet motor tanker."
One of the sources did not know if the Sophia still had oil on board.
Trump has focused his foreign policy in Latin America on Venezuela, initially aiming to push Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from power. After failing to find a diplomatic solution, Trump ordered U.S. forces to fly into the country to grab him and his wife in a daring overnight raid on 3 January.
Since then, Trump has said the U.S. plans to control Venezuela's oil resources indefinitely as it seeks to rebuild the country's dilapidated oil industry in a $100 billion plan.
Along with most tankers under Western sanctions or part of the so-called shadow fleet, many of the Venezuela-linked tankers seized were built more than 20 years ago and pose hazards to shipping because they lack safety certification and adequate insurance, experts said.
That means that if they have a collision or oil spill, establishing insurance claims or liability is very difficult to impossible, shipping and insurance industry sources said.
Dubai-run GMS has applied for a U.S. license to buy and scrap ships seized by the U.S. government linked to Venezuelan oil trading.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis reshuffled his cabinet on Friday (3 April) in a bid to contain a growing scandal over the alleged fraudule...
A parliamentary vote in Myanmar has elected junta chief Min Aung Hlaing as president, consolidating his grip on power five years after he ousted an...
One crew member from a U.S. warplane shot down over Iran has been rescued, U.S. officials said, as a search continues for a second crew member....
Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz has hailed the growing importance of the Organisation of Turkic States (OTS) am...
Across China, people are taking part in a wide range of activities to honour fallen heroes ahead of the Qingming Festival, a traditional time for r...
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis reshuffled his cabinet on Friday (3 April) in a bid to contain a growing scandal over the alleged fraudulent use of European Union farm subsidies.
One crew member from a U.S. warplane shot down over Iran has been rescued, U.S. officials said, as a search continues for a second crew member.
Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs says it has sent a mid-level delegation to China for formal talks with Pakistan, as both sides meet in Urumqi amid efforts by Beijing to ease tensions between the neighbours.
Iran has strongly condemned U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to bomb the country “back to the Stone Age”, calling his remarks an example of “war crimes and genocide.”
Fears of wider escalation grow despite President Donald Trump saying U.S. strikes on Iran could end within weeks. Meanwhile missile attacks, tanker incidents and rising casualties across Israel, Lebanon and the Gulf heighten risks to regional stability and energy routes.
Four astronauts blasted off from Florida on Wednesday on NASA's Artemis II mission, a high-stakes voyage around the moon that marks the United States' boldest step yet toward returning humans to the lunar surface later this decade in a race with China.
An earthquake of magnitude 7.6 struck in Indonesia's Northern Molucca Sea on Thursday, killing one person, damaging some buildings and triggering tsunami waves, authorities and witnesses said.
President Donald Trump staunchly defended his handling of the month-old U.S.-Israeli war on Iran in a prime-time address on Wednesday, saying the U.S. military was nearing completion of its mission while also reinforcing his threats to bomb the Islamic Republic back to the Stone Age.
One U.S. crew member has been rescued after Iran downed a warplane, while the search continues for a second. At the same time, Iran has officially told mediators it will not meet U.S. officials in Islamabad in the coming days, calling U.S. demands unacceptable, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis reshuffled his cabinet on Friday (3 April) in a bid to contain a growing scandal over the alleged fraudulent use of European Union farm subsidies.
One crew member from a U.S. warplane shot down over Iran has been rescued, U.S. officials said, as a search continues for a second crew member.
Across China, people are taking part in a wide range of activities to honour fallen heroes ahead of the Qingming Festival, a traditional time for remembrance and paying respect to the deceased.
France and South Korea have agreed to strengthen defence ties and energy security cooperation following a two-day visit by French President Emmanuel Macron to Seoul.
In a highly unusual move highlighting shifting narcotics diplomacy, the U.S. has handed over a Chinese fugitive accused of serious drug crimes to authorities in Beijing.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment