US in process of seizing fifth tanker in effort to control Venezuelan oil

The US is in the process of seizing the Olina tanker in the Caribbean near Trinidad in the fifth such interdiction of ships in recent weeks as part of Washington’s efforts to control Venezuelan oil exports, two US officials said on Friday.The Olina, according to public shipping database Equasis, was falsely flying the flag of the tiny south-east Asian nation of Timor Leste. The vessel had previously sailed from Venezuela and had returned to the region, said an industry source with direct knowledge of the matter.“The vessel’s AIS (location) tracker was last active 52 days ago in the Venezuelan EEZ, north-east of Curacao,” Vanguard, a British maritime risk management company, said separately.“The seizure follows a prolonged pursuit of tankers linked to sanctioned Venezuelan oil shipments in the region.”The Olina left Venezuela last week fully loaded with oil as part of a flotilla shortly after the US seized Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro on 3 January, and the vessel was returning fully loaded to Venezuela following the US blockade of Venezuelan oil exports, the industry source said.The US imposed sanctions on the tanker in January last year, when it was named the Minerva M, for what the government in Washington, DC said was it being part of the so-called shadow fleet of ships that sail with little regulation or known insurance.More details soon …