U.S. Hands Over Seized Oil Tanker to Venezuela
The officials declined to explain the rationale behind returning the ship, which they named as the Panama-flagged supertanker M/T Sophia, intercepted by the US Coast Guard and military personnel on January 7 while transporting petroleum. During its capture, Washington characterized the sanctioned Sophia as a "stateless, sanctioned dark fleet motor tanker." One official informed media it remains uncertain whether the petroleum cargo remains aboard.
The disclosed transfer of the Sophia arrives during a transformation in US strategy toward the petroleum-rich nation and relaxation of economic restrictions following the January 3 abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and subsequent dealings with the country's interim leader Delcy Rodriguez.
Rodriguez has taken steps to accommodate crucial US requirements, including granting Venezuelan petroleum sector access to American corporations as component of a proposed $100 billion reconstruction initiative. Trump has declared the US intends to "control Venezuela's oil resources indefinitely."
The US has been implementing a blockade on sanctioned Venezuelan petroleum exports for multiple weeks, having confiscated at least seven vessels it determined were breaching sanctions since late last year.
These encompassed the seizure of a Russian-flagged ship, the Marinera, which was captured on January 7 in the North Atlantic following allegations of violating oil sanctions against Venezuela.
Moscow denounced the action as a serious violation of maritime law and demanded the release of the detained sailors. On Wednesday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova confirmed that two Russian sailors from the Marinera had been freed and were on their way home.
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