The US military intercepted and seized a sanctioned tanker off the coast of Venezuela, marking a serious escalation of tension between the two countries. “We have just impounded an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela — a large tanker, very large, and actually the largest tanker ever seized.” US President Donald Trump said at the White House, “Something else is happening.” A senior Trump administration official called the ship a “stateless ship,” and its last stop was Venezuela. Affected by this news, crude oil futures prices rose, and the London Brent crude oil futures settlement price rose 0.4%. A few hours later, US Attorney General Pam Bundy posted a video on X showing heavily armed soldiers landing from a Black Hawk helicopter onto the tanker deck, a standard commando tactic called “fast abseiling.” “For many years, this tanker was sanctioned by the United States for participating in illegal oil transportation networks supporting foreign terrorist groups,” she wrote. The US move could make it more difficult to export Venezuelan oil, as other shipping companies may now be more reluctant to load their cargo.

The US military intercepted and seized a sanctioned tanker off the coast of Venezuela, marking a serious escalation of tension between the two countries. “We have just impounded an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela — a large tanker, very large, and actually the largest tanker ever seized.” US President Donald Trump said at the White House, “Something else is happening.” A senior Trump administration official called the ship a “stateless ship,” and its last stop was Venezuela. Affected by this news, crude oil futures prices rose, and the London Brent crude oil futures settlement price rose 0.4%. A few hours later, US Attorney General Pam Bundy posted a video on X showing heavily armed soldiers landing from a Black Hawk helicopter onto the tanker deck, a standard commando tactic called “fast abseiling.” “For many years, this tanker was sanctioned by the United States for participating in illegal oil transportation networks supporting foreign terrorist groups,” she wrote. The US move could make it more difficult to export Venezuelan oil, as other shipping companies may now be more reluctant to load their cargo.