President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that the United States has seized a sanctioned oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, a move that immediately pushed oil prices higher and sharply intensified tensions between Washington and Caracas.
“We have just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela, a very large tanker, the largest one ever, actually, and other things are happening,” Trump said, continuing his long standing pressure campaign urging Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to step down.
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When asked what would happen to the seized oil, Trump responded, “We keep it, I guess.”
The Venezuelan government swiftly condemned the operation, accusing the United States of “blatant theft” and describing the seizure as “an act of international piracy.” Officials said they intend to denounce the incident before international bodies.
Trump has repeatedly suggested the possibility of United States military intervention in Venezuela. The tanker seizure marks the first action by his administration against a Venezuelan oil cargo since sanctions took effect in 2019. It is also the first known move targeting a Venezuela related vessel since Trump ordered a large military buildup in the region.
United States Attorney General Pam Bondi stated on X that the FBI, Homeland Security, and the Coast Guard, with support from the United States military, carried out a seizure warrant for a crude tanker transporting sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran. Bondi also released a 45 second video showing two helicopters approaching a vessel and armed officers in camouflage rappelling onto the ship.
The Iranian embassy in Caracas condemned the operation as a “grave violation of international laws and norms.”
Officials did not immediately identify the vessel or disclose its exact location at the time of the operation. However, British maritime risk management firm Vanguard reported that the very large crude carrier Skipper was believed to have been seized early Wednesday. The United States has previously sanctioned the tanker for its involvement in Iranian oil trading when it sailed under the name Adisa.
According to satellite data reviewed by TankerTrackers.com and internal records from Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA, the Skipper departed Venezuela’s main oil port of Jose between December 4 and 5 with about 1.8 million barrels of Merey heavy crude. Before the seizure, it transferred roughly 200,000 barrels near Curacao to the Panama flagged vessel Neptune 6, which was bound for Cuba.
Guyana’s maritime authority stated that the Skipper was falsely flying the country’s flag. PDVSA data also showed that the vessel had transported Venezuelan oil to Asia between 2021 and 2022.
Oil prices rose following the news. Brent crude gained 27 cents to settle at 62 dollars and 21 cents a barrel, while United States West Texas Intermediate crude increased by 21 cents to close at 58 dollars and 46 cents.
Maduro addressed a crowd at a march on Wednesday but did not respond to reports of the seizure.
Venezuela exported more than nine hundred thousand barrels per day last month, the third highest average of the year, driven by increased imports of naphtha needed to dilute extra heavy crude. Despite rising pressure from Washington, the Trump administration had previously avoided interfering with Venezuela’s oil shipments.
Venezuela has been forced to heavily discount its crude to its main customer China because of increasing competition from sanctioned oil originating in Russia and Iran. Commodity analyst Rory Johnston described the tanker seizure as another geopolitical obstacle affecting supply. He noted that although the action intensifies concerns about immediate market availability, it does not fundamentally change the situation because the cargo was already expected to remain at sea for an extended period.
Chevron, which partners with PDVSA, said its operations remain stable and unaffected. The company recently increased Venezuelan crude exports to the United States to 150,000 barrels per day, up from 128,000 in October.
Maduro has accused the United States military buildup of being part of a plan to overthrow him and gain control of Venezuela’s vast oil reserves, which are the largest proven crude resources in the world.
Since early September, the Trump administration has conducted more than 20 strikes against vessels suspected of drug trafficking in the Caribbean and Pacific. These operations have killed more than 80 people and prompted concerns among lawmakers and legal experts who argue that there is little public evidence that the targeted vessels were transporting drugs or that lethal force was necessary.
Concerns escalated further this month after reports that the commander responsible for one of the missions ordered a second strike that killed two survivors.
A Reuters Ipsos poll released Wednesday found widespread opposition among Americans to the lethal strikes on suspected drug boats, including opposition from about one fifth of Trump’s Republican supporters.
In a strategic report published last week, Trump stated that his administration’s foreign policy priority would be restoring American dominance in the Western Hemisphere.
