Particle.news
Download on the App Store
11 ARTICLES
·
last mo.

U.S. Seizes Sanctioned Tanker Off Venezuela as White House Moves To Take Its Oil

U.S. officials say the Skipper was targeted under a court seizure order for alleged links to illicit Iranian oil networks.

Image
Image
Image
Image

Overview

  • Footage released by Attorney General Pam Bondi shows FBI, Homeland Security Investigations and the Coast Guard boarding the vessel by helicopter in international waters without injuries.
  • The tanker is identified as the MT Skipper, formerly Adisa, which has been under U.S. sanctions since 2022 over connections to Iranian oil shipments.
  • An American official said the ship was carrying PDVSA crude, and U.S. media reported its planned destination as Asia.
  • Venezuela denounced the action as piracy, and Iran backed Caracas by calling the seizure a violation of international law.
  • The White House said the ship will head to a U.S. port and that it intends to seize the oil subject to legal procedure, while also announcing new sanctions on relatives of Nicolás Maduro and six Venezuelan tankers and indicating more interdictions could follow.