US Security Minister kristi Noem confirmed on Saturday that they have seized an oil tanker that had recently docked in Venezuela.
This is the second time in less than a month that the US has seized an oil tanker.
US Security Minister Kristi Noem confirms the action.
Photo: Mark Schiefelbein / AP / NTB
In a video published by the US Department of Defense, a helicopter is shown hanging low over the ship.
– The United States will continue to pursue the illegal transport of sanctioned oil used to finance narco-terrorism in the region, Noem wrote.
the US Coast Guard seized the vessel before dawn with support from the Pentagon, she added.
Not sanctioned ship
The British company Vanguard, which deals with maritime risk management, says the vessel in question is probably the Panama-registered ship Centuries, which ran aground east of Barbados in the Caribbean.
The ship was last tracked off Venezuela two to three days ago, ship data shows MarineTraffic and VesselFinder Sunday morning.
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Venezuela Reacts Strongly
the Venezuelan government states that the ship and it’s cargo do not belong to Venezuela. They released an official statement saying these actions will have consequences and called it piracy.
– Venezuela “condemns and rejects the theft and hijacking of a new private vessel carrying oil, as well as the kidnapping of its crew, carried out by military personnel of the United States of America in international waters,” the statement reads.
Venezuela also warns that it will bring this issue to the UN Security Council.