US seizes another oil tanker in Caribbean: 'Will crush illicit activity in Western Hemisphere'

The United States has stepped up maritime enforcement in the Western Hemisphere, with US forces intercepting a sanctioned "dark fleet" tanker in the Caribbean and separately seizing a Russian-flagged oil tanker in the North Atlantic linked to Venezuelan oil exports.

The US Southern Command said it carried out a pre-dawn interdiction of a sanctioned vessel operating outside international norms. "In a pre-dawn action this morning, the Department of War, in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security, apprehended a stateless, sanctioned dark fleet motor tanker without incident,” the Southern Command said in a post on Wednesday.

The vessel was identified as M/T Sophia. "The interdicted vessel, M/T Sophia, was operating in international waters and conducting illicit activities in the Caribbean Sea," the command said. The US Coast Guard has taken custody of the tanker. "The U.S. Coast Guard is escorting M/T Sophia to the U.S. for final disposition," it said.

The command further said that the Department of War is unwavering in its mission to "crush illicit activity in the Western Hemisphere." 

The move comes days after the US forces, in a midnight operation, captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from Caracas. US President Donald Trump imposed a "complete blockade" on sanctions-hit Venezuelan oil tankers last month. Since then, the US forces have seized several vessels operating under opaque jurisdictions.

Separate seizure in the North Atlantic

The Caribbean interdiction came as the United States separately confirmed the seizure of a Russian-flagged oil tanker in the North Atlantic for allegedly violating US sanctions. The US European Command said that the vessel was seized in the North Atlantic pursuant to a warrant issued by a US federal court.

According to Reuters, the tanker was originally known as Bella-1 and had slipped through a US maritime blockade of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean, rebuffing earlier attempts by the US Coast Guard to board it. After that encounter, the vessel registered under a Russian flag and was renamed Marinera, Reuters reported, citing US officials.