WASHINGTON – The United States has so far failed to board the sanctioned oil tanker Bella I off the coast of Venezuela, three days after attempting to intercept the vessel. According to Reuters, the U.S. Coast Guard lacks sufficient specially trained personnel to forcibly take control of the ship, despite the blockade of Venezuela announced by President Donald Trump. The situation was also reported by Dutch broadcaster NOS.
The Bella I has been on the U.S. sanctions list since June 2024 for transporting oil on behalf of a company linked to Hezbollah. When the tanker sailed empty toward the Venezuelan coast over the weekend, its crew refused a U.S. request for inspection. A forced boarding did not take place due to personnel shortages within the Coast Guard, a U.S. official told Reuters. Since then, the vessel has turned around and is now heading back toward open sea.
Previous interceptions
The failed attempt to board the Bella I follows two earlier U.S. actions against tankers linked to sanctioned oil trade. On December 10, the U.S. Coast Guard boarded the tanker Skipper, which was sailing under a false Guyanese flag and was itself sanctioned. Last Saturday, U.S. authorities also seized the tanker Centuries. That vessel was sailing under a Panamanian flag and was not sanctioned, but according to U.S. officials, it was carrying oil that falls under sanctions.
The American approach toward so-called “shadow tankers” has drawn international criticism. China described the seizure of the Centuries as a violation of international law and condemned what it called “unilateral and illegal” sanctions. The oil on board the tanker was reportedly destined for the Chinese market.
At the same time, some countries in the region are cooperating with U.S. enforcement actions. Shortly before the boarding of the Centuries, Panama removed the vessel from its shipping registry, rendering it stateless and, under maritime law, subject to boarding.
Pressure on Venezuela’s oil exports
The United States has told the United Nations Security Council that it intends to continue operations aimed at restricting the oil revenues of the government of Nicolás Maduro. According to Washington, this strategy has already disrupted Venezuela’s oil trade. One tanker reportedly turned back recently out of fear of interception, and Venezuela has begun using tankers anchored offshore for temporary storage as onshore storage facilities have reached capacity.
Reuters reports that U.S. authorities are waiting until enough Coast Guard personnel are available before attempting another boarding of the Bella I. The U.S. Navy, which does have sufficient manpower, is not being deployed because the operation falls under law enforcement rather than military authority.
The Coast Guard has previously warned the U.S. Congress that it lacks the resources needed to handle the growing number of tasks assigned to it in the Caribbean, a challenge that appears increasingly evident as enforcement actions expand in the region.