US forces have seized a fifth tanker in the Caribbean Sea, officials said, as Washington continues its efforts to control exports of Venezuelan oil.
“Once again, our joint interagency forces sent a clear message this morning: ‘there is no safe haven for criminals,'” US Southern Command said on X.
The X post on Friday morning said that Marines and sailors in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security “apprehended” the Olina oil tanker.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the Olina was “another ‘ghost fleet’ tanker ship suspected of carrying embargoed oil” and was seized after it “departed Venezuela attempting to evade US forces”.
Noem posted a video online appearing to show troops dropping onto a ship from a helicopter.
The tanker, the Olina, is on multiple countries’ sanctions lists and the fifth vessel to be seized by the US in recent weeks.
Maritime risk company Vanguard Tech said the vessel was attempting to break through the US naval blockade in the Caribbean.
It added that the vessel’s location tracker was last active 52 days ago, northeast of Curacao, and that “the seizure follows a prolonged pursuit of tankers linked to sanctioned Venezuelan oil shipments in the region”.
Earlier this week, the US said it seized two other tankers linked to Venezuelan oil exports in “back-to-back” operations in the North Atlantic and Caribbean.
One of them was the Russian-flagged Marinera, which was seized with the help of the UK Royal Navy, who gave logistical support by air and sea.
The Marinera is allegedly part of shadow fleet carrying oil for Venezuela, Russia and Iran, breaking US sanctions.
US authorities alleged the second tanker – the M/T Sophia – was “conducting illicit activities”.
The moves come as the US seeks to choke off most exports of Venezuelan crude oil, and just days after its special forces seized Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in a lightning raid on his residence in Caracas.
President Donald Trump says Venezuela – which has the world’s largest proven oil reserves – “will be turning over” up to 50 million barrels of oil worth some $2.8bn (£2.1bn) to the US.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that the oil would be sold “in the marketplace at market rates” and that the US would control how the proceeds were dispersed “in a way that benefits the Venezuelan people”.