The US on Wednesday, January 7, 2026, seized an oil tanker in the North Atlantic – between Scotland and Iceland – that had evaded its effort to crack down on Venezuela’s energy exports, capping a pursuit that had lasted more than two weeks and raised tensions with Russia.
At about the same time, US forces boarded another oil tanker in international waters near the Caribbean. The raids suggest the Americans intends to keep up the pressure on Caracas. “They tried to seize the tanker and it evaded them,” says Matthew Wright of Kpler. “They did not want to set a precedent.”
In recent days 16 tankers carrying Venezuelan oil have attempted to break out of the American blockade by sailing out en masse. One of those, the M Sophia, was the other ship nabbed by America on January 7th.
The first tanker, until recently known as the Bella 1, had been eluding the US Coast Guard after being stopped in the Caribbean on its way to pick up oil in Venezuela. Its crew then began flying a Russian flag in a last-ditch effort to avoid seizure while Russia dispatched at least one naval vessel to meet and escort the ship.
The US military dispatched a large force to assist the US Coast Guard, including a Navy P-8 submarine-hunting aircraft and AC-130 gunships. Several US military aircraft left bases in the UK on Wednesday morning heading toward the tanker.
Sources:
The Economist: America chases down the shadow fleet serving Venezuela https://www.economist.com/briefing/2026/01/08/america-chases-down-the-shadow-fleet-serving-venezuela
Nicholas Nehamas, Eric Schmitt, and Julian E. Barnes, NYT: US seizes oil tanker, raising tensions with Russia https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/07/us/politics/us-russia-oil-tanker.html
CBC: US tightens grip on Venezuela’s oil, seizes 2 more tankers
BBC: US seizes two ‘shadow fleet’ tankers linked to Venezuelan oil
