The United States has taken control of the Olina tanker in the Caribbean, marking the fifth vessel in recent weeks as part of increased efforts to restrict Venezuelan oil exports, as confirmed by U.S. officials on Friday. The Olina, which was falsely flying the flag of Timor Leste according to the Equasis public shipping database, had previously departed from Venezuela and had now returned to the region, according to a source familiar with the situation in the industry.
In an early morning operation, marines and sailors from Joint Task Force Southern Spear, deployed from the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier, seized the Olina in the Caribbean Sea without any incidents, as announced by the U.S. Southern Command. The command emphasized that the joint interagency forces delivered a clear message that there would be no sanctuary for criminals.
Following the U.S. seizure of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on January 3, the Olina departed Venezuela last week with a full load of oil as part of a fleet. It was now heading back fully loaded to Venezuela after the U.S. imposed a blockade on Venezuelan oil exports, the industry insider revealed.
The British maritime risk management company Vanguard reported that the Olina’s AIS tracker was last active 52 days ago in the Venezuelan EEZ, northeast of Curacao. The tanker was under sanctions by the U.S. since January of the previous year when it operated under the name Minerva M, due to its association with the shadow fleet of ships known for minimal regulation and unclear insurance.
Another tanker, the M Sophia, part of a group of vessels that departed Venezuela earlier this month, was also seized by U.S. forces recently. Three other vessels from the same fleet, Skylyn, Min Hang, and Merope, fully loaded, returned to Venezuelan waters on Thursday, as per the industry source.
The Pentagon spokesperson, Sean Parnell, highlighted that in the past 24 hours, seven oil vessels from the dark fleet changed course to avoid interception, recognizing the seriousness of U.S. actions. All the oil carried by these ten tankers belonged to the Venezuelan state producer PDVSA, with no immediate comment from PDVSA on the situation.
The status of the other tankers heading towards Venezuela remained uncertain, while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reiterated that the U.S. blockade on sanctioned Venezuelan oil remained effective worldwide. In a related development, U.S. President Donald Trump disclosed that a planned second wave of attacks on Venezuela had been called off following positive cooperation from the nation, including the release of political prisoners as a peace gesture.
Trump praised the collaboration between the U.S. and Venezuela in rebuilding their oil and gas infrastructure and expressed optimism about canceling the anticipated attacks. The President also mentioned upcoming meetings with oil executives and significant investments in Venezuela’s oil sector.