Since the beginning of December, the US military has carried out an unprecedented maritime crackdown, seizing and controlling 5 commercial oil tankers.
However, sea arrests are just the beginning of a complex and carefully calculated process, turning seized assets into budget revenue or political negotiation tools.
This process usually begins with strong military measures. Typically, in the case of the Bella 1 ship, after being fiercely pursued along the Atlantic Ocean, the US Coast Guard coordinated with Army helicopters to drop naval special forces directly onto the deck. This action was aimed at immediately depriving the crew of control, ensuring that the ship could not escape or destroy goods itself.
After the ship is controlled, the US will activate an inter-sectoral mechanism called "Maritime Threat Response" (MOTR). This is the stage when the Pentagon, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice sit down to determine the legal status of the ship. This process determines which port the ship will be taken to and how the crew will be criminally handled.
Usually, the destinations of the seized ships are ports along the Gulf of Mexico, especially the Houston area. The reason the US chose this location is because it concentrates the most modern oil and gas infrastructure system, allowing for fast and safe oil pumping out of ships. The seized ships often need to be repaired or technically supported to meet strict safety standards before being allowed to dock at US ports.
The most important stage in the process is the handling of goods. The entire amount of crude oil on the ship will be confiscated, transferred to storage tanks and put up for public auction. Even the ships themselves after unloading goods may also be sold if they are still valuable. A noteworthy point is that the entire amount of money collected from the sale of resources and assets of this other country will be transferred directly to the US Treasury Department's Revenue Collection Fund.
However, this process also has exceptions that are politically calculated. The case of the ship Olina being arrested on January 9 is a typical example. Instead of bringing it back to the US to confiscate assets as usual, President Donald Trump directly directed the ship to return to Venezuela. This move is aimed at serving a "energy agreement" being negotiated with the pro-US interim administration, turning the ship into a diplomatic wing.
To maintain this huge enforcement and handling apparatus, the US has not hesitated to spend heavily. An additional budget of up to 25 billion USD has just been approved for the US Coast Guard, double the annual budget of this force. That money ensures that the US has sufficient personnel and means to maintain oil ship encirclement and seizure operations taking place with almost daily frequency in international waters.
