Two so-called “dark fleet” oil tankers were boarded and seized by US forces after one of the ships eluded a blockade around Venezuela, changed its name, and reflagged itself as a Russian vessel in a failed two-week long chase to evade capture.
Heart pumping video posted on X by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem captured a morning raid on Jan. 7, when US Coast Guard personnel boarded two “ghost fleet” tanker ships.
According to US European Command, one of the ships, known as Bella 1, was seized after it was spotted off Venezuela’s coast — dodging a sweeping Trump-imposed US quarantine of vessels transporting oil to and from the South American country. The second tanker, the M/T Sophia, was boarded near the Caribbean Sea while en route to Venezuela, and sailing under a Panamanian flag. According to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, both ships were quote: “either last docked in Venezuela or en route to it.”
Read more at https://nypost.com/2026/01/07/us-news/us-forces-board-sanctioned-russia-flagged-oil-tanker-that-eluded-venezuela-blockade/
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