The U.S. Coast Guard is pursuing another oil tanker linked to the transport of Venezuelan crude, marking a further escalation in the Trump administration’s campaign to block the country’s oil exports, according to U.S. officials.
Officials said the vessel under pursuit is the Bella 1, a very large crude carrier that was sanctioned by the United States in 2024. The operation comes a day after U.S. authorities apprehended a separate tanker that was not previously listed under sanctions, underscoring a more aggressive enforcement posture following President Donald Trump’s directive for a total blockade of sanctioned tankers moving oil into and out of Venezuela.
U.S. officials described the Bella 1 as part of a so-called dark fleet of vessels used to transport Venezuelan oil while evading detection. The ship was reported to be operating under a false flag to conceal its true registration and is subject to a judicial seizure order. Shipping data show the tanker’s registered owner as Istanbul-based Louis Marine Shipholding Enterprises S.A.
The pursuit is part of a broader effort to cut off oil revenue that underpins the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The Trump administration has sought to increase pressure on Caracas over migration, drug trafficking and the return of former U.S. assets nationalized decades ago, while also pressing Maduro to relinquish power. Venezuelan officials have rejected the U.S. actions, calling them illegal and an attack on the country’s sovereignty.
Roughly 70 percent of Venezuela’s oil exports depend on a network of sanctioned or lightly regulated vessels. By targeting those ships, U.S. authorities are striking at a key source of revenue for the Maduro government and intensifying economic pressure on the country.
According to one official, the Bella 1 was among three crude carriers that had been sailing toward Venezuela but reversed course last week in an apparent attempt to avoid detection.
The pursuit follows a separate Coast Guard operation over the weekend in which U.S. authorities boarded a Panamanian-flagged tanker, the Centuries, after it had docked in Venezuela. That vessel was not listed on sanctions rolls maintained by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom or the United Nations. U.S. officials nonetheless said it was operating as part of Venezuela’s shadow fleet and carrying crude oil loaded at the country’s José terminal, with its destination signaled as Malaysia.
Earlier this month, the United States also took control of another sanctioned tanker, the Skipper, which has since been sailing toward the Texas coast under U.S. authority.
Source: wsj