Trump Says U.S. Seized Oil Tanker off the Coast of Venezuela
By Spencer Kimball, Kevin Breuninger
- President Donald Trump said the U.S. has seized a large oil tanker near Venezuela.
- Trump has escalated pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in recent weeks, saying his “days are numbered.”
- Most of Venezuela’s oil exports go to China.
- The tanker has been identified as the Skipper, according to Matt Smith, head U.S. analyst at energy consulting firm Kpler.
U.S. forces on Wednesday seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, President Donald Trump said.
“We’ve just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela — a large tanker, very large, the largest one ever seized actually,” Trump said during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room at the White House.
The president declined to provide information on who owned the tanker or its destination, but said it was “seized for a very good reason.”
The tanker has been identified as the Skipper, according to Matt Smith, head U.S. analyst at energy consulting firm Kpler.
Skipper is a Guyana-flagged “Very Large Crude Carrier,” or VLCC, that was loaded covertly with 1.1 million barrels of oil in mid-November, Smith told CNBC.
Smith said the ship appeared to be headed for Cuba, though it has been stopped offshore Venezuela since it was loaded.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said later Wednesday that a seizure warrant for the crude oil tanker was executed by the FBI, the Homeland Security Department’s investigations unit and the U.S. Coast Guard, with support from the Pentagon.
Bondi, in an X post, shared apparent military drone footage showing soldiers boarding the vessel from a helicopter.
The tanker, which transported oil from Venezuela and Iran, has been sanctioned by the U.S. for years “due to its involvement in an illicit oil shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organizations,” Bondi wrote on X.
The seizure “was conducted safely and securely,” she added, “and our investigation alongside the Department of Homeland Security to prevent the transport of sanctioned oil continues.”
U.S. crude oil was up 70 cents, or 1.2%, to $58.95 per barrel at 3:12 p.m. ET. Global benchmark Brent rose 71 cents, or 1.15%, to $62.65 a barrel.
Trump has escalated pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in recent weeks. The president said Maduro’s “days are numbered” in an interview with Politico published Tuesday. He would not rule out a ground invasion of the South American nation.
“I don’t want to rule in or out. I don’t talk about it,” Trump told Politico.
The White House has undertaken a large military buildup in the Caribbean and launched controversial, deadly strikes against boats that it claims were trafficking drugs to the U.S.
Venezuela is a founding member of OPEC and has the largest proven oil reserves in the world. It is exporting about 749,000 barrels per day this year with at least half that oil going to China, according to data from Kpler.
Venezuela exports about 132,000 bpd to the U.S., according to Kpler.
“Shippers will likely be much more cautious and hesitant about loading Venezuelan crude going forward,” Smith said.
