US forces seize 5th oil tanker in campaign to track down Venezuelan oil

The US Coast Guard seized a fifth oil tanker early Friday morning and continued to eye other vessels trying to evade the US blockade on sanctioned tankers traveling to and from Venezuela, according to US officials.

The tanker targeted Friday was the Olina, said the officials and Vanguard, a shipping security and tracking company. The ship, previously named the Minerva M, was sanctioned by the US for its role in transporting Russian oil.

The Olina was seized overnight in the Caribbean Sea, an operation conducted by the Coast Guard and Joint Task Force Southern Spear, two US officials said. The US military confirmed the seizure, saying in a post on X that it was “unwavering in its mission to defend our homeland by ending illicit activity and restoring security in the Western Hemisphere.”

The Olina was “another “ghost fleet” tanker ship suspected of carrying embargoed oil,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in a separate post. The vessel “had departed Venezuela attempting to evade US forces,” she added.

The Olina was falsely registered with Timor Leste, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence, a maritime data analysis company. This comes days after American forces in the North Atlantic took control of the Bella 1, a Russian-flagged tanker that fled the American blockade and led a weekslong chase.

The Kremlin on Friday thanked Washington, saying the US had agreed to release two of the Bella 1’s Russian crew members, while President Donald Trump confirmed that Moscow had sent naval assets to try to protect the ship. 

“In response to our appeal, US President Donald Trump has decided to release two Russian citizens from among the crew of the tanker Marinera, who had previously been detained by the American side during an operation in the North Atlantic,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement on Telegram. 

“We welcome this decision and express our gratitude to the US leadership,” Zakharova said.