Overview
- At least four vessels that sailed in dark mode have reentered Venezuelan waters, according to PDVSA and TankerTrackers.com.
- The Merope, Min Hang, and Thalia III were located by satellite imagery off Venezuela after initially departing without active transponders.
- The United States intercepted the Panama-flagged supertanker M Sophia during its return, and detained the Aframax Olina near Trinidad on Jan. 9 before releasing it, PDVSA said.
- Roughly a dozen loaded ships and at least three empty vessels left Venezuela late last month in defiance of a U.S. oil embargo imposed in mid-December.
- A Pentagon spokesperson said the U.S. will target all shadow-fleet carriers of Venezuelan crude and reported multiple tankers turning back to avoid interception.