U.S. Pursues Third Tanker Off Venezuela, Escalating 'Shadow Fleet' Standoff

The Lead: A High-Stakes Maritime Pursuit

The U.S. Coast Guard is pursuing a third oil tanker in international waters near Venezuela, officials told Reuters on Sunday, signaling a sharp escalation in Washington's campaign to choke off illicit oil revenues to sanctioned nations. If successful, it would be the third such interception in less than two weeks, underscoring the enforcement of a 'blockade' President Donald Trump announced last week.

Target: The Sanctioned 'Bella 1'

"The United States Coast Guard is in active pursuit of a sanctioned dark fleet vessel that is part of Venezuela's illegal sanctions evasion," a U.S. official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "It is flying a false flag and under a judicial seizure order." Another official clarified that the tanker has not yet been boarded and that interceptions can take various forms, including sailing or flying close to the vessel.

While U.S. officials didn't name the ship, British maritime risk group Vanguard and a U.S. maritime security source identified it as the Bella 1, a crude oil carrier already on the Treasury Department's sanctions list. According to TankerTrackers.com, the vessel was empty as it approached Venezuela on Sunday. It has a documented history of illicit trade, having transported Venezuelan oil to China in 2021 and previously carried Iranian crude, according to monitoring services and internal documents from Venezuela's state oil company, PDVSA.

"I don't think that people need to be worried here in the U.S. that the prices are going to go up because of these seizures... There's just a couple of them, and they were black market ships."

– Kevin Hassett, Director of the White House's National Economic Council

Market Jitters and Geopolitical Ripples

The White House sought to downplay the economic fallout. Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, told CBS's "Face the Nation" that the first two tankers seized were "black market ships" and he doesn't expect the operations to raise U.S. gas prices.

Market analysts, however, are less certain. One oil trader told Reuters the seizures could push prices slightly higher when Asian markets open. "We might see prices increasing modestly at the opening, considering market participants could see this as an escalation with more Venezuelan barrels at risk," said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo.

The implications may extend far beyond oil prices. The seizures raise geopolitical risks by increasing friction with the 'shadow fleet' of vessels that move oil for sanctioned countries like Venezuela, Russia, and Iran. Matias Togni, an oil shipping analyst at NextBarrel, warned that the U.S. actions could legitimize and encourage Ukraine to continue attacking Russian vessels and potentially embolden Europe to detain Moscow-linked dark fleet ships. The cat-and-mouse game on the high seas appears to be entering a more dangerous phase.