seizes

US forces have seized another tanker in the Caribbean Sea, officials say, as the Trump administration continues its efforts to control exports of Venezuelan oil.

The tanker, the Olina, is on multiple countries’ sanctions lists and the fifth vessel to be seized by the US in recent weeks.

The US is using the seizures to pressure Venezuela’s interim government and remove the so-called dark fleet of tankers from service. Officials say this fleet consists of more than 1,000 vessels that transport sanctioned and illicit oil.

“Once again, our joint interagency forces sent a clear message this morning: ‘there is no safe haven for criminals,'” said the US military’s Southern Command on Friday.

The vessel reportedly left Venezuelan waters late on Sunday, after the US seized President Nicolás Maduro in an early morning raid.

Officials said Friday’s operation was carried out before dawn by Marines and sailors in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security, and that it was seized after it “departed Venezuela attempting to evade US forces”.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote on X that it was “another ‘ghost fleet’ tanker ship suspected of carrying embargoed oil”.

Noem also shared a video appearing to show troops dropping onto a ship from a helicopter, and described the operation as “safe” and “effective”.

Maritime risk company Vanguard Tech said the vessel was attempting to break through the US naval blockade in the Caribbean. It had been sailing under a false flag registered to Timor-Leste, according to the International Maritime Organization.

Vanguard Tech 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”.

The US had sanctioned the Olina last January, then named Minerva M, accusing it of helping finance Russia’s war in Ukraine by moving Russian oil to foreign markets.

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 seized with the help of the UK Royal Navy, which 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 officials said that Marinera was falsely flying the flag of Guyana last month, which made it stateless.

US authorities alleged the second tanker – the M/T Sophia – was “conducting illicit activities”.

Experts have told BBC Verify that under UN international maritime law, authroties can board a stateless vessel.

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.

The oil, according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, 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”.

Jan. 7 (UPI) — The United States on Wednesday said that it seized two oil tankers — a Russian-flagged vessel in the North Atlantic and another in the Caribbean Sea.

U.S. Southern Command said, in coordination with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, it “apprehended a stateless, sanctioned dark fleet motor tanker without incident.”

SOUTHCOM accused the vessel, the M/T Sophia, of carrying out “illicit activities” in international waters in the Caribbean Sea. In a post on X, the agency said the U.S. Coast Guard was escorting the vessel to the United States for “final disposal.”

U.S. European Command, meanwhile, announced it seized the Russian-flagged Mariners — formerly known as the M/V Bella 1 — a vessel it had been chasing across the Atlantic Ocean since December.

EUCOM, in a post on X, said it seized the tanker for violating U.S. sanctions and transporting Iranian oil.

“The vessel was seized in the North Atlantic pursuant to a warrant issued by a U.S. federal court after being tracked by USCGC Munro,” the agency said.

U.S. officials said Russia sent two naval ships and a submarine to escort the Marinera, which was between Iceland and Britain, heading northeast.

The United States deployed at least 10 special-ops military aircraft and transporter aircraft thought to be carrying helicopters to RAF bases in Britain in recent days, possibly in preparation for an interdiction.

The U.S. Coast Guard attempted to execute a warrant to seize the tanker in the Caribbean in December, when it was believed to be headed to Venezuela in contravention of a partial U.S. blockade.

The ship’s final destination was thought to be the Baltic Sea, or possibly the Russian port of Murmansk on the Barents Sea.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said it was monitoring the situation with “concern” and complained about what it said was unwarranted attention from the United States and its NATO allies.

The vessel refused to permit the Coast Guard to board on its first attempt Dec. 21 when it was en route from Iran to collect oil from Venezuela, changed course and headed back out into the Atlantic.

On the way, it painted a Russian flag on the hull, changed its name from Bella 1 to “Marinera” and listed on a Russian shipping registry, in a bid to shake off its U.S. pursuers.

The New York Times reported that Hyperion and at least three other vessels plying the Venezuela route, employed similar stealth tactics, swapping their original flags for Russian ones — exacerbating already tense relations strained over the U.S. attack on Venezuela which is backed by Moscow.

All the ships are suspected of being part of Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet,” moving Russian, Iranian and Venezuelan oil subject to sanctions imposed by the United States, European Union and other countries around the world.

The Russian Maritime Shipping Registry records show the ships, which are all sanctioned by the United States for transporting Iranian or Russian oil, changed their home ports to Sochi or Taganrog in southern Russia and switched flags.

New telecommunications cable damage discovered in Finland’s exclusive economic zone.

Finnish authorities have seized a vessel suspected of intentionally severing undersea telecommunications cables amid fears of Russian sabotage in the Gulf of Finland.

The seized cargo vessel Fitburg was en route from the Russian port of St Petersburg ⁠to Israel at the time of the incident on Wednesday, Finnish Border Guard officials said at a news conference in Helsinki.

The Fitburg was dragging its anchor in ‌the sea and was directed to Finnish territorial waters, the police and Border Guard said.

Helsinki police opened an investigation into potential aggravated criminal damage and aggravated interference with telecommunications.

The Fitburg’s 14 crew members were from Russia, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan and were all detained by Finnish police, investigators said. The ship sailed under the flag of St Vincent and the Grenadines.

“Finland is prepared for security challenges of various kinds, and we respond to them as necessary,” Finnish President Alexander Stubb said in a statement.

Part of the Baltic Sea, the Gulf of Finland is bordered by Estonia, Finland and Russia. The area has been hit by a string of similar incidents in recent years.

The undersea cable belongs to telecommunications service provider Elisa and is considered to be critical underwater infrastructure for Finland.

The company said in a statement the cable damage has “not affected the functionality of Elisa’s services in any way”, noting services have been rerouted. Earlier, Elisa said it had detected a fault in its cable and reported it to Finnish authorities.

NATO has boosted its presence in the Baltic with frigates, aircraft and naval drones in recent years.

“We remain in contact with the Finnish authorities through exchange of information via the NATO shipping centre located at our Allied Maritime Command in Northwood, UK,” an official at the military alliance said.

A deliberate act?

Estonia’s Ministry of Justice and Digital Affairs said a second telecoms cable connecting ‌the country to Finland also suffered an outage on Wednesday. It’s unclear whether the incidents are related.

“I’m concerned about the reported damage. … Hopefully it was not a deliberate act, but the investigation will clarify,” Estonian President Alar Karis said on X.

Energy and communications infrastructure, including underwater cables and pipelines, have been damaged in the Baltic Sea in recent years.

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, many security analysts and political leaders have viewed cable sabotage as part of a “hybrid war” carried out by Russia against NATO countries and their allies.

On Christmas Day 2024, the Cook Islands-registered oil tanker Eagle S cut five cables in the Gulf of Finland after dragging its anchor on the seabed for 90km (56 miles).

In October, Helsinki’s District Court ruled it did not have jurisdiction to hear a case against the ship’s three senior officers. It said it was up to the vessel’s flag state or the defendants’ home countries – Georgia and India – to try them

Finnish prosecutors have appealed the ruling.

Reporting from Washington — A bank has seized a Tulare County dairy farm owned by Rep. David Valadao and his family to resolve more than $8 million in loans that have not been repaid, according to court documents.

In November, agriculture lender Rabobank sued Triple V Dairy in Fresno County Superior Court alleging failure to repay loans for cattle and feed totaling about $8.3 million. The Republican congressman is named in the suit along with his wife, four other family members, two other farms and 50 unnamed defendants. Also listed in the suit is a separate farm owned by the family, Lone Star Dairy, in which the congressman has no stake.

Both sides agreed March 28 to hand control of the farm over to the bank until it is sold. The bank appointed a local business owner to oversee the daily operations of the farm and began to sell off livestock and farming equipment to settle the debt.

“Like so many family dairy farms across the country, burdensome government regulations made it impossible for the operation to remain open,” Valadao said in a statement. “While this has been an especially difficult experience, I remain hopeful that sharing my story will help those going through similar situations.”

The next court session in the case is scheduled for July 16.

House rules prohibit Valadao from having an active role in the day-to-day operations of the farm, which was largely managed by his brothers. Valadao lives near Hanford on the property of Valadao Dairy, which is managed by his father and is not involved in the lawsuit.

According to the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s annual summaries, almost 36% of dairy farms in California shut down between 2001 and 2017. In the last five years, at least 50 dairies in Fresno, Kern, Kings and Tulare counties have closed.

Valadao grew up in the dairy business and in 1992 became a partner in the family’s Central Valley dairy. Working on local agricultural interests through the California Milk Advisory Board and the Western States Dairy Trade Assn. spurred an interest in politics, and Valadao was elected to Congress after serving in the state Assembly.

Valadao’s stake in the Triple V and Valadao dairies has consistently made him one of the poorest members of Congress. According to his annual financial disclosure report, Valadao’s stake in each dairy is worth between $1 million and $5 million, but lines of credit against the farms and equipment give him an estimated net worth of negative $17.5 million.

Valadao is currently seeking a fourth term representing the 21st Congressional District, which stretches across rural portions of Fresno, Kings, Tulare and Kern counties.

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Dec. 20 (UPI) — The U.S. Coast Guard led another seizure of an oil tanker in international waters near Venezuela on Saturday after President Donald Trump declared a blockade of Venezuela.

The U.S. Navy and other federal entities participated in the seizure of the oil tanker, which is not among those sanctioned by the federal government, the Wall Street Journal, CBS News and CNN reported.

Armed U.S. personnel on military helicopters descended onto the tanker’s deck during the early morning hours on Saturday and seized it, Homeland Security Sec. Kristi Noem said in a social media post.

No one aboard the oil tanker resisted, and the United States seized it for carrying sanctioned Venezuelan oil.

The seized tanker displayed a Panamanian flag and was carrying Venezuelan oil that it was to offload in Asia.

Much of Venezuela’s oil is shipped to China, which has privately owned teapot refineries that often buy and refine illicit oil from Venezuela, Iran and other sanctioned nations.

The president on Tuesday ordered a “total and complete blockade” of all sanctioned oil tankers as they enter or leave Venezuelan waters.

Saturday’s raid shows the blockade could affect any vessel that carries Venezuelan oil, as affirmed by Noem.

The United States on Wednesday seized a sanctioned oil tanker after it departed a Venezuelan port and diverted it to Texas, where Trump said the United States could keep the oil in its hold.

That tanker, The Skipper, was flying the flag of Venezuela’s neighbor, Guyana, officials for which said the vessel is not among those registered there.

Such activities are typical of a shadow fleet that uses deceptive tactics to hide where respective vessels are located and transport illicit oil, which often benefits Iran, Russia and other sanctioned states.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro‘s government called The Skipper’s seizure an act of “piracy” and “robbery” and said the blockade is a “grotesque threat” that violates international law, according to CBS News.

Maduro’s regime accuses the United States of trying to “appropriate the oil, land and minerals of the country through gigantic campaigns of lies and manipulations.”

The blockade and tanker seizures are in addition to U.S. military strikes on alleged drug boats carrying illicit drugs destined for the United States and Europe.

Both tactics are efforts to isolate the Maduro regime, which Trump seeks to force out of power by depriving it of its primary revenue sources.

BREAKINGBREAKING,

The incident marks the second time in recent weeks that the US has seized an oil tanker near Venezuela.

The United States has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela in international waters, according to officials quoted by international news agencies.

The incident comes just days after US President Donald Trump announced a “blockade” of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela.

This also marks the second time in recent weeks that the US has seized a tanker near Venezuela and comes amid a large US military build-up in the region as President Donald Trump continues to ramp up pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

Three officials, who were speaking to the Reuters news agency on the condition of anonymity, did not say where the operation was taking place but added the Coast Guard was in the lead.

Two officials, speaking to The Associated Press news agency, also confirmed the operations. The action was described as a “consented boarding”, with the tanker stopping voluntarily and allowing US forces to board it, one official said.

Al Jazeera’s Heide Zhou-Castro said that there was no official confirmation from the US authorities on the operation.

“We are still waiting for confirmation from the White House and Pentagon on the details, including which ship, where it was located, and whether or not this ship was beneath the US sanctions,” she said.

More soon…

The US has seized a vessel in international waters off the coast of Venezuela, US officials have told BBC News partner CBS.

It is the second time this month that the US has seized a ship off the country’s coast.

The move comes after US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he was ordering a “blockade” of sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela.

Venezuela has not yet responded to the latest US seizure, but has previously accused Washington of seeking to steal its oil resources.

The BBC has contacted the White House for comment.

The operation was led by the US Coast Guard, similar to the operation earlier this month, CBS reports. The ship was boarded by a specialised tactical team.

In recent weeks, the US has been building up its military presence in the Caribbean Sea and has carried out deadly strikes on alleged Venezuelan drug-smuggling boats, killing around 100 people.

The US has provided no public evidence that these vessels were carrying drugs, and the military has come under increasing scrutiny from Congress over the strikes.

The US has accused Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro of leading a designated-terrorist organisation called Cartel de los Soles, which he denies.

The Trump administration accuses him of and the group of using “stolen” oil to “finance themselves, Drug Terrorism, Human Trafficking, Murder, and Kidnapping”.

Venezuela – which is home to the world’s largest proven oil reserves – is highly dependent on revenues from its oil exports to finance its government spending.

Trump’s announcement of a “blockade” came less than a week after the US seized an oil tanker believed to be part of the “ghost fleet” off the coast of Venezuela, which allegedly used various strategies to conceal its work.

The White House said the vessel in question, called the Skipper, had been involved in “illicit oil shipping” and would be taken to a US port.

Venezuela’s government decried the move, with Maduro saying the US “kidnapped the crew” and “stole” the ship.