US seizes tanker with Venezuelan oil again
21 December 2025 11:17
The United States has again seized an oil tanker carrying cargo from Venezuela in international waters. This was announced on Saturday, December 20, by US Secretary of Homeland Security Christine Noem. According to her, the US Coast Guard took control of the vessel before dawn, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports citing DW.
The Venezuelan authorities called the incident a “serious act of international piracy” and accused the United States of “theft and hijacking” of the ship, as well as “enforced disappearance of crew members.” Caracas announced its intention to bring the incident to the UN Security Council.
US claims
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said that the tanker was sailing “under a false flag” and was “part of Venezuela’s ‘shadow fleet’ used to smuggle stolen oil and finance Maduro’s narco-terrorist regime.” The US Secretary of Homeland Security also promised tough measures, emphasizing that the US will continue to fight the illegal transportation of sanctioned oil.
According to the British maritime risk assessment company Vanguard, the seized vessel is the Panamanian-flagged tanker Centuries, which was taken over east of Barbados. However, according to maritime law expert Jeremy Paner, this vessel is not under US sanctions. According to him, the seizure of a non-sanctioned tanker means further increasing the pressure of the Donald Trump administration on Venezuela and contradicts the previously stated course of action exclusively against sanctioned vessels.
Actual naval blockade
On Tuesday, Donald Trump ordered a “complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers” entering or leaving Venezuela. After the seizure of the first vessel, a de facto naval blockade was established: loaded tankers remain in Venezuelan waters for fear of capture. The country’s oil exports have plummeted.
According to internal documents of the state oil concern PDVSA, the seized tanker was carrying about 1.8 million barrels of oil destined for China. After the introduction of US energy sanctions in 2019, traders began to use the so-called “shadow fleet” of vessels, which often hide their location. The Centuries tanker, according to sources, went to sea under the false name Crag.
The Trump administration’s pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is accompanied by an increase in the US military presence in the region. According to the United States, more than two dozen strikes have already been carried out on ships in the Caribbean and Pacific, killing at least 100 people. Trump also said that U.S. ground operations against Venezuela are possible in the near future. Maduro, in turn, accuses Washington of trying to overthrow him and take control of the world’s largest oil reserves in the OPEC country.
