The United States has begun searching for a third oil tanker linked to Venezuela as part of a military and sanctions operation aimed at cutting off the flow of crude oil from the country. The US Coast Guard began intercepting the Bella 1, a … Panama-flagged vessel which, at that time, was sailing empty and heading to Venezuelan waters to load oil. The Treasury Department sanctioned the Bella 1 in 2024 for its involvement in transporting goods that Washington said benefited Hezbollah and the Quds Force of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.
Performance brands a turning point in Donald Trump’s strategy dismantle the so-called ghost fleet that Iran and Venezuela use to transport crude oil outside international sanctions. With successive tanker bans and coordination with countries like Panama, the United States is beginning to sever the logistical ties that support this opaque shipping system based on reflagging, front companies, and transshipments on the high seas.
The United States had already acted against two other oil tankers linked to Venezuela in the previous days. The first, The Skipper, was seized on December 10 while carrying between 1.8 and 1.9 million barrels of crude oil, with an estimated value of around $95 million. The second, the Centuries, was boarded by US forces although it is not on the sanctions list. In both cases, Washington had the authorization of the government of Panama to intervene on ships sailing under its flag.
Washington had previously stepped up pressure on the oil network linking Iran, Venezuela and China with a new round of sanctions and maritime interdiction operations aimed at cutting off oil financing. Last week, Trump sanctioned 29 ships from the so-called “ghost fleet” and pointed the finger at operators and companies that facilitate the triangulation of Venezuelan oil to Chinese refineries, whose revenues, the White House says, end up supporting Iran’s military apparatus.
The stated objective is a policy of “denial of liquidity”: make each shipment more expensive, slow and unviable, breaking the opaque system of flags, transshipments and ownership structures designed to hide the origin of crude oil. The United States maintains that the siege targets both Tehran and Caracas, as well as middlemen who dilute oil trails, with a particular focus on maritime routes to China.
Last week, Trump sanctioned 29 ships from the so-called “ghost fleet” and pointed the finger at operators and companies that facilitate the triangulation of Venezuelan oil to Chinese refineries.
Trump administration sources said the Bella 1 was sailing under a false flag at the time of the chase. The coast guard contacted the ship on Sunday and temporarily suspended the ban before resuming surveillance a few hours later. By the evening of the same day, the tanker had not been boarded and it was unclear whether the operation was continuing. Washington also did not specify the final destination of the crude oil seized in the first two cases.
Funding of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards
The Skipper tanker was seized in accordance with a court order due to its links to financing the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and Hezbollah. In the Centuries case, the United States acted without a court order, relying on its interpretation of the sanctions in force against the Venezuelan oil sector. State oil company PDVSA remains under US sanctions since 2019 and Trump declared a “blockade” of sanctioned tankers operating around Venezuela.
The Trump administration went even further by designating the Venezuelan government as a foreign terrorist organization and recalling that in 2020, it had accused Nicolas Maduro of narcoterrorism. Washington says Venezuela and Iran share a secret fleet for transporting crude oil and cooperate in military areas, including drone technology. The Venezuelan dictator rejects these accusations and denies any involvement in terrorist activities or drug trafficking.
Maduro ordered the Venezuelan navy to escort ships loaded with oil products to try to ensure the departure of strategic exports
The reaction from Caracas was immediate. The Venezuelan vice president, Delcy Rodriguezpublicly denounced the U.S. seizure of ships and what it called the “enforced disappearance” of crews in international waters, an accusation Washington has not confirmed. The Venezuelan government presented these events as a violation of international law and as part of an escalation of economic and military pressure against the country.
At the same time, Maduro ordered the Venezuelan navy to escort ships loaded with petroleum products to try to guarantee the departure of strategic exports and defy the siege announced by the White House. According to reports cited by American media, the Venezuelan navy escorted at least three ships bound for Asia. None of the ships were on the U.S. sanctions list at the time, although analysts warn the measure increases the risk of incidents on the high seas.
Consequences on maritime traffic
The impact of this impulse has already been felt in maritime traffic. Four Panamanian-flagged vessels changed course on December 11 following a previous US seizure. Among them were the Bella 1, in addition to the Seeker 8, the Karina and the Eurovictory, a move that sector sources interpret as a first deterrent effect of the American offensive on the oil transport network linked to Venezuela.
Since September, the United States has intensified its operations against Venezuelan drug trafficking, with a particular focus on the persecution of called “narcolanchas” which operate in both the Caribbean and the Pacific. These fast boats are used to move drug shipments from Venezuelan shores to international routes. The U.S. Southern Command reported that these actions have left at least 99 Venezuelan drug traffickers dead in recent operations, part of a sustained maritime interdiction campaign that combines aerial surveillance, intelligence and direct actions on the high seas.
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