The Coast Guard and other troops boarded the M/T Centuries after it departed Venezuela. It’s the second tanker seized this month.

The cost of shipping oil is likely to remain high in the first half of 2026 as the global fleet ages and a rising number of vessels are hit with Western sanctions, shipping sources say, though rates could be capped in the second half.

In December 2025, the U.S. did seize an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela — just not the one shown in viral posts.

Putin's shadow fleet of aging oil tankers has grown to up to 1,200 vessels with ships accused of severing undersea cables and linked to drone incursions.

Ukraine carried out a rare long-range attack by striking a Russian-linked oil tanker in the Mediterranean near Libya, more than 2,000 kilometers from its borders. Officials said Russia used the vessel as part of its shadow fleet to bypass sanctions,

The fleet of ghost ships Venezuela uses to smuggle part of its oil to black markets, which President Donald Trump vowed this week to stop with a military blockade, is made up of dozens of old tankers and operates following the example of other nations under sanctions such as Russia and Iran,

Early in the morning, UAVs targeted the tanker, setting off a fire aboard. Witnesses told Astra that the ship’s stern flooded up to the superstructure. The channel reported that authorities quickly cordoned off the area and deployed buoys around the crippled vessel.