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The U.S. Seized a Second Tanker from Venezuela | Sanctioned Oil in the Crosshairs​

Dec 20, 2025 What's Going on With Shipping - Maritime Industry Today
In this episode, Sal Mercogliano — a maritime historian at Campbell University (@campbelledu) and former merchant mariner — discusses the United States seizure of the MT Centuries off the coast of Venezuela on December 20, 2035

14:59

00:00 What is a Blockade
03:10 US Sanctions on Venezuela
05:22 US Military Build-up & Venezuela Response
07:44 Impact of "Blockade"
12:02 Sanctioned Tankers in Venezuela
12:57 Act of War?
16:58 Venezuela Is Exporting Oi
20:07 Analysis

- Marine Traffic www.marinetraffic.com
- Seasearcher www.seasearcher.com
- US Says It Intercepted Second Tanker in Venezuela Blockade https://gcaptain.com/us-says-it-inter...
- Tanker Trackers www.tankertrackers.com
 

Chinese-flagged VLCC en route to Venezuela despite US blockade​

  • Chinese-flagged VLCC Thousand Sunny will arrive near Venezuela in mid-January on its present course
  • Another Chinese-flagged VLCC, Xing Ye, is waiting to load in Venezuela and is slow steaming off French Guiana
  • Previous US tanker seizures off Venezuela, or attempted seizures, involved two ships with false flags and one ship flagged to Panama, which gave permission
The real geopolitical test for America’s blockade of Venezuela would come from Chinese-flagged tankers. What would happen if an unsanctioned Chinese-flagged VLCC loaded Venezuelan crude?

THE 2015-built very large crude carrier Thousand Sunny (IMO: 9623269) has been transporting Venezuelan Merey crude to China for a half-decade. It is Chinese-flagged, of unknown ownership, and it is not sanctioned by the US.

It is currently on a direct course to arrive in Venezuela in mid-January, when it would run into the US blockade.

More:

Chinese-flagged VLCC en route to Venezuela despite US blockade

The real geopolitical test for America’s blockade of Venezuela would come from Chinese-flagged tankers. What would happen if an unsanctioned Chinese-flagged VLCC loaded Venezuelan crude?
www.lloydslist.com
 

Oil Tanker Fleeing the Coast Guard Now Listed in Russian Ship Database​

The oil tanker fleeing American forces in the Atlantic Ocean has been formally renamed and added to an official Russian database of vessels registered in that country, potentially complicating U.S. efforts to board the runaway ship.

According to the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping, the vessel, previously known as the Bella 1, is now registered as the Marinera. The database lists the vessel as flying the Russian flag, with a home port of Sochi.

More:

 
DYODD here.

What the US Strike on Venezuela Means for Oil​

Jan 3, 2026
President Donald Trump says the US will be strongly involved in Venezuela’s oil industry after US forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an early morning raid Saturday. Venezuela’s oil infrastructure was not affected by US military airstrikes in Caracas and other states, according to sources with knowledge of the matter. Blomberg’s Julian Lee examines how the action impacts the Venezuelan oil industry and global oil market.

6:07
 
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