US handing over seized tanker to Venezuela, officials say
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The oil tanker Sophia, which was seized by the United States, is anchored off the coast of Ponce, Puerto Rico.
PHOTO: REUTERS
WASHINGTON - The United States is handing over a tanker to Venezuela that it seized in January, two US officials told Reuters on Jan 28, the first known instance in which President Donald Trump's administration has returned such a tanker.
The United States has been carrying out a months-long effort to seize oil tankers linked to Venezuela – carrying out seven apprehensions since late 2025.
The officials, who were speaking on the condition of anonymity, identified the tanker being handed to the Venezuelan authorities was the Panama-flagged supertanker Sophia. They did not say why the tanker was returned.
The US Coast Guard, which leads interdiction and seizure operations, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Sophia was carrying oil when it was interdicted on Jan 7 by the Coast Guard and US military forces. At the time, the administration said the Sophia, which is under sanctions, was a “stateless, sanctioned dark fleet motor tanker”.
One of the sources did not know if the Sophia still had oil on board.
Mr Trump has focused his foreign policy in Latin America on Venezuela, initially aiming to push Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from power. After failing to find a diplomatic solution, Mr Trump ordered US forces to fly into the country to grab him and his wife in a daring overnight raid on Jan 3
Since then, Mr Trump has said the US plans to control Venezuela's oil resources indefinitely
Earlier in January, the Sophia and another seized tanker were seen near Puerto Rico.
With most tankers under Western sanctions or part of the so-called shadow fleet, many of the Venezuela-linked tankers seized were built over 20 years ago and pose hazards to shipping because they lack safety certification and adequate insurance, experts said.
That means that if they have a collision or oil spill, establishing insurance claims or liability is very difficult to impossible, shipping and insurance industry sources said.
Dubai-run GMS has applied for a US licence to buy and scrap ships seized by the US government linked to Venezuelan oil trading. REUTERS
