US Seizes a Fifth Oil Tanker: 'No Safe Haven for Criminals'

US forces have quietly expanded their hunt for sanctioned Venezuelan oil, boarding a fifth tanker early Friday as part of a growing maritime crackdown with global implications. US officials say the latest target is the Olina, an East Timor-flagged ship previously known as the Minerva M and under US sanctions for moving Russian oil, per the Wall Street Journal. Shipping tracking data indicate the vessel hadn't publicly signaled its position since mid-November, when it was near Venezuela's coast and sailing under what analysts describe as a false flag. US officials tells NBC News that the mission was carried out by the US Coast Guard and Joint Task Force Southern Spear.

"There is no safe haven for criminals," the US Southern Command declared after the seizure, per the AP. Data firm Kpler says the Olina took on about 700,000 barrels of Merey crude at Venezuela's Jose terminal on Christmas Eve; EU database Equasis lists its owner as Tantye Peur Ltd., based in Hong Kong, per the Journal. The operation is part of a broader Trump administration effort to squeeze Venezuela's government and dismantle the so-called dark, or shadow, fleet—an estimated 1,000-plus tankers that use deceptive tactics to move sanctioned oil. About 70% of Venezuela's crude exports now depend on such vessels to sidestep US penalties, alongside an aging network of ships linked to Russia and Iran.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has argued that the maritime blockade gives Washington "the strongest leverage possible" over Caracas and its partners. Recent seizures, including the high-profile boarding of the tanker Bella 1 as it was shadowed by Russian navy ships, have sharpened tensions with Moscow. The US Navy has deployed several warships, among them the carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, to support Coast Guard interdictions near South America, while the Pentagon has backed some boardings with special forces, AC-130J gunships, and P-8 Poseidon aircraft.

Legal experts say Russia, worried about US actions against tankers carrying its oil, has taken the unusual step of letting dark-fleet ships near Venezuela register under its flag with minimal scrutiny. The standoff unfolds as Washington and Moscow are already at odds over a proposed Ukraine peace framework, adding another strain to an already fraught relationship.