US Seizes Seventh Sanctioned Tanker Off Venezuela
The US military’s Southern Command confirmed that US forces have taken control of another tanker in the Caribbean Sea, the seventh tanker tied to sanctioned trading of Venezuelan oil seized by the US military since forces seized a Venezuela-linked VLCC in early December.
According to the US Southern Command, the vessel was operating “in defiance of President Trump’s established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean”. The command emphasized that the confiscation “demonstrates our resolve to ensure that the only oil leaving Venezuela will be oil that is co-ordinated properly and lawfully”.
Vessel Details Emerge
The seized tanker, Sagitta, is an Aframax vessel with a deadweight tonnage of 106,000. Tanker Trackers, an independent crude oil shipments tracker, reported that Sagitta had stopped exporting Russian oil as part of a ‘shadow’ or ‘ghost’ fleet of tankers tied to illicit trading, when the US sanctioned the vessel as part of a list of 150 vessels sanctioned in a move by the US Treasury in 2025.
Vessel’s History Revealed
Tanker Trackers also revealed that Sagitta had exported fuel out of Venezuela in August 2025 under a zombie alias. The vessel’s last AIS locator beacon report on the vessel valuation website VesselsValue shows the ship’s name as Kathia and its location on November 2, 2025, as being in the Baltic Sea, fully laden with cargo.
Ownership and Flag Registration
Both VesselsValue and the Equasis vessel database list ownership details for Sagitta as linked to a Hong Kong-based company known as Camellia Jackson. Sanctions-tracking databases list the company as ‘of interest’ but non-sanctioned, and those involved with the company are anonymous despite a reported 2022 purchase linked to the company of 13 vessels at a price of nearly US$400M.
Other Seized Vessels Spotted
Tanker Trackers also reported that previously commandeered vessels M Sophia and Veronica have been spotted off the coast of the US protectorate Puerto Rico.
Original Article: US seizes seventh sanctioned tanker off Venezuela — Rivieramm