U.S. Seizes Oil Tanker Carrying 1.1 Million Barrels of Venezuelan Crude
Increasing pressure on the Maduro regime, warning 12 ships carrying embargoed Venezuelan oil that are waiting... Trump: "The oil will be ours."
On the morning of the 10th local time, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that on the same day, off the coast of Venezuela, the United States seized a tanker suspected of heading to Asia. This means that the U.S. has further intensified its pressure on the regime of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
Hours after the opposition leader of Venezuela, Maria Corina Machado, left Venezuela by boat to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, the U.S. military executed the seizure order. Machado was unable to collect the award in person and had her daughter accept it instead.
Upon the announcement of the seizure, crude oil futures prices rose immediately. The price of Brent crude futures increased to $62.35 per barrel, up 41 cents; the price of U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures was $58.46 per barrel, up 21 cents.
That day, U.S. President Donald Trump said at a White House event, "As you know, we just seized a tanker off the coast of Venezuela. This tanker is very large. In fact, it's the largest seizure in history, and other actions are also underway."
Trump did not reveal who owned the tanker, but stated that the crude oil on board "will be ours."
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi claimed that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the U.S. Coast Guard carried out the seizure order with support from the Department of Defense. She posted footage on social media showing officials descending from helicopters using ropes and entering the bridge room while armed.
Bondi said, "The vessel has been involved for years in an illegal oil transport network that supports foreign terrorist organizations and is under U.S. sanctions." She claimed that the ship "was used to transport sanctioned crude oil from Venezuela and Iran."
A U.S. government official told The New York Times that the vessel was named "Skipper," transporting crude oil from Venezuela's state-owned petroleum company PDVSA.
The official said that the U.S. Department of Justice has been investigating international black market crude oil networks in recent years, and the seized vessel had previously participated in smuggling Iranian crude oil. It is also reported that the vessel flies the flag of a South American country rather than its actual country of registration, and its final destination is Asia.
About two weeks ago, the U.S. government applied for and issued a seizure order against the vessel, citing its past involvement in smuggling Iranian crude oil. The Department of Justice argued that Iran uses the proceeds from crude oil sales to fund its military and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which the U.S. designates as a terrorist organization. The details of the seizure order were not made public.
Energy consulting firm Kpler told The Wall Street Journal that "Skipper" is a VLCC (very large crude carrier) class vessel that secretly loaded about 1.1 million barrels of Merey heavy crude oil in Venezuela in mid-November by closing its AIS (Automatic Identification System).
Kpler analyst Matt Smith said, "This VLCC has also been used for [dark activity (smuggling Iranian crude oil)]." After loading the crude oil, "Skipper" remained anchored in the waters off the coast of Venezuela without moving.
Venezuela exports an average of 750,000 barrels of crude oil per day this year, more than half of which is shipped to China. In recent months, Venezuela's crude oil exports have slightly increased, even against the pressure from the U.S. in the Caribbean Sea, with daily exports reaching 920,000 barrels in November.
Analysts say that crude oil accounts for up to 72.4% of Venezuela's total exports and 58% of the government's total budget.
According to a U.S. Department of Defense source, this measure is also a warning to other tankers carrying Venezuelan crude oil that are waiting to be exported. According to maritime tracking data, there are still 12 tankers waiting near the coast of Venezuela, some of which have turned off their AIS to avoid being detected.
The U.S. currently has more than 15,000 troops and 12 warships, including the Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier, deployed in the Caribbean Sea. Trump had previously approved a secret operation by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) targeting Venezuela, and the U.S. has warned that the scope of the crackdown "will soon" expand from vessels along the Venezuelan coast to land targets.
On November 21, Trump had spoken with Maduro and discussed the possibility of talks, and on November 30, he publicly revealed this fact.
Although the U.S. prohibits the export of Venezuelan crude oil, some U.S. companies, such as Chevron, are exceptions. In July, Chevron received a "limited license," although it is prohibited from making new investments or developing new oil fields, its operations in Venezuela can continue.
Evidently, the U.S. hopes to maintain a certain level of influence over Venezuela's oil industry, establish a channel for intelligence gathering, so that the U.S. Gulf refineries can refine the heavy crude oil from Venezuela, which contains a lot of sulfur and impurities, into high-value products with high profit margins.
Source: Chosun Ilbo
Original: toutiao.com/article/1851199567178761/
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