Oil dredging in Venezuela has slowed significantly as many tankers have turned around or only transported domestically, after the US arrested and sought to intercept more vessels related to the country's oil. Maritime tracking data and sources said most ships are currently only moving oil between domestic ports.
The US Coast Guard seized an oil tanker on the sanctions list while it was carrying Venezuelan oil this month and sought to intercept two other vessels over the weekend. One of them was empty and was under sanctions, the other was not sanctioned for full cargo and was en route to China. US President Donald Trump has announced the freezing of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela, making ship owners especially cautious.
On the same day, Trump said Washington could keep or sell oil seized offshore in recent weeks while keeping ships. Foreign Minister Panama Javier Martinez-Acha said that the Centuries super ship, which hung a Panama flag when stopped, violated maritime regulations by changing its name and turning off its signal device while carrying oil from Venezuela, leading to the possibility of having its flag registration canceled.
US pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Putin also includes increased military presence in the region and dozens of attacks targeting ships accused of transporting drugs. When asked about the ultimate target, Trump said he would take a tough backlash if Caracas continued to confront them.
The ship blockades are considered the biggest blow to PDVSA (a state-owned petroleum company in Venezuela) since the US imposed sanctions in 2020, forcing the company to cut production and exports. Brent oil prices increased by 2.4% to 61.94 USD per barrel, while US WTI oil also increased by 2.4% to 57.89 USD, due to concerns about supply disruption.
PDVSA has handed over a shipment of 1.9 million barrels of heavy oil to the sanctioned Azure Voyager at the port of Jose, but no other super ship is expected to soon deploy to Asia. Many oil tankers are full but have not left the port, causing millions of oil barrels to be stuck at sea. Some ships approaching the Venezuelan coast have also turned around or suspended their their route pending instructions.
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil criticized the US arrests as violations of international law and shipbage crimes, while China also said that this was a serious violation of international law.
