The U.S. Coast Guard intercepted the tanker 'Olina' in the Caribbean Sea near Trinidad, with service personnel boarding the vessel on January 9, The Wall Street Journal and Reuters reported, citing U.S. officials.
As noted by The Bell, the registration number of the 'Olina' matches the registration number of the tanker 'Minerva M'. In January 2025, it was sanctioned by the U.S. as a vessel of the shadow fleet used to transport Russian oil in violation of Western sanctions, writes Meduza.
The vessel sails under the flag of East Timor. It last reported its location 52 days ago, in mid-November, near the coast of Venezuela, Reuters reports, citing data from Vanguard.
This is the fifth vessel captured by the U.S. in an operation targeting ships involved in transporting oil from Venezuela. Shadow fleet vessels account for 70% of Venezuela's oil exports.
Among other things, the U.S. captured the tanker 'Bella 1' in the Atlantic Ocean, which belongs to a Russian company. The tanker evaded American military pursuit for over two weeks, during which it was also accompanied by Russian naval forces. Russia called the detention of the vessel an 'illegal use of force.'
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