The US Coast Guard seized the oil tanker Olina from Russia’s “shadow” fleet. The Olina had previously left Venezuela and was returning to the region.

In a pre-dawn operation, marines and sailors from Joint Task Force Southern Spear, launched from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, apprehended The Olina in the Caribbean Sea “without incident”, US Southern Command said on X.

An industry source said The Olina departed Venezuela last week fully laden with oil as part of a flotilla shortly after the US seized Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on January 3, before later heading back towards Venezuela following Washington’s blockade of the country’s oil exports.

The United States imposed sanctions on the tanker in January last year, when it was operating under the name Minerva M, after Washington said it was part of the so-called “shadow fleet” of vessels accused of sailing with little regulation or known insurance.

Express report