Overview
- U.S. forces seized the tanker Olina in the Caribbean in a pre-dawn operation staged from the USS Gerald R. Ford, the fifth interdiction in about a month targeting sanctioned Venezuelan oil flows.
- The Olina, previously named Minerva M and already under U.S. sanctions, was boarded by Joint Task Force Southern Spear personnel, with Southern Command citing the vessel’s role in the shadow fleet.
- Earlier this week, U.S. units seized the Russian-flagged Marinera in the North Atlantic after a two‑week pursuit; Moscow protested and said two Russian crew members were later released following its appeals.
- At the White House, President Trump told oil executives the United States will decide which firms operate in Venezuela and offered security guarantees, as ExxonMobil said it would assess a return and Eni signaled it is ready to invest.
- In a separate maritime incident, the tanker Elbus en route to Novorossiysk was reportedly struck by a drone and an unmanned surface vessel in the Black Sea and diverted toward Turkish waters without injuries reported.