Despite U.S. "Blockade," Foreign-Flagged Tankers Arrive in Venezuela
Foreign-flagged tankers continue to call in Venezuela despite a White House "quarantine" order and the new U.S. policy of seizing Venezuela-linked ships, according to TankerTrackers.com.
The independent consultancy told Reuters that it was aware of at least two sanctioned vessels that have arrived in Venezuela in recent days. Two more unsanctioned vessels are reportedly en route. Lloyds List has identified these vessels as the Thousand Sunny and the Xing Ye, both Chinese-flagged. Xing Ye is reportedly loitering off the coast of French Guiana. China has opposed U.S. intervention in Venezuela's tanker trade, and the arrival of unsanctioned, Chinese-flagged tonnage would complicate Washington's geopolitical calculations for enforcement of the "blockade."
Two laden VLCCs have been captured to date, and one has already arrived at an anchorage off Galveston in U.S. custody. One more noncompliant ship - the Bella 1 - is being "pursued" in the Atlantic, and the crew has decided to paint a Russian flag on the vessel in an attempt to deter an American boarding, officials told the New York Times on Tuesday. Russia is a longtime ally of Venezuela, and has recently spoken out against the U.S. naval cordon.
"The illegal US blockade of Venezuela's coastline is a genuine act of aggression," Russian diplomat Vassily Nebenzia told a UN gathering last week. "Unfortunately, there is every reason to believe that these are not one-off acts by the US vis-a-vis Venezuela."
Bella 1 has reportedly altered course northwards, and is said to be headed in the general direction of the Greenland-Iceland-UK Gap. The ship ceased broadcasting on AIS several weeks ago, and her position and heading were not possible to verify independently.
Coast Guard officials earlier told the Times that any interdiction of the Bella 1 would have to wait for the arrival of a specially-trained boarding, search and seizure team.
NEWSWEEK
DEC 30, 2025
By Amira El-Fekki
Middle East News Reporter
Chinese oil tankers are pressing ahead with Venezuela-linked voyages despite a U.S. blockade and an escalating campaign of tanker seizures.
Two Chinese-flagged VLCCs are operating near Venezuelan waters, with the Thousand Sunny due to arrive in mid-January and the Xing Ye waiting off French Guiana, according to a new report by Lloyd's List.
Newsweek has reached out to the U.S. State Department for comment.
Why It Matters
The movements come as China said it opposed U.S. oil seizures and naval pressure on Venezuela. President Donald Trump is tightening maritime enforcement to choke off oil revenues to Caracas, which has in turn said the blockade won’t deter its oil shipments, and is reportedly deploying vessels to escort commercial vessels carrying petroleum products.
President Nicolás Maduro accused Washington of illegally targeting its sovereign oil exports and natural resources, calling the move "utterly irrational," but Trump vowed to expand the U.S. military presence, claiming Venezuela is using oil revenues to fund drug trafficking and crime.
The U.S. has conducted more than 20 military strikes on alleged Venezuelan drug-smuggling boats in international waters since September and appears headed toward more military escalation against Maduro's regime in the coming weeks.
The crude oil tanker New Odyssey arrives at the port in Qingdao, in China's eastern Shandong province on April 15, 2025. | Photo by STR/AFP/Getty Images
What To Know
The report published Tuesday said Thousand Sunny was in the southern Atlantic on Monday, having sailed around the Cape of Good Hope without cargo, and has not diverted or slowed since Trump announced an oil blockade on Venezuela in mid-December. The Chinese-flagged tanker of unknown origin is not sanctioned by the U.S. and has been transporting Venezuelan Merey crude to China for a half-decade.
Meanwhile, the second unsanctioned Chinese-flagged VLCC, Xing Ye, is currently slow-steaming off French Guiana as it waits to load crude at Venezuela’s Jose Terminal. Like the Thousand Sunny, its ownership remains undisclosed, and its post-Venezuela destination is unclear. The tanker last loaded crude in Venezuela in August.
China has extended tens of billions of dollars in loans to Venezuela over the years, repaid by Caracas largely through oil shipments, and backed Venezuela in an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday.
Stepping up its blockade on Venezuelan oil, the U.S. seized the Panama‑flagged Centuries and the VLCC Skipper while pursuing the Bella 1, which officials say is a sanctioned Venezuelan vessel flying a false flag under a judicial seizure order.
Venezuelan gunboats have begun escorting vessels carrying oil and petroleum products but their coverage appears limited to the nation’s territorial waters, according to The New York Times.
Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PVDSA) has begun shutting oil wells in the Orinoco Belt as storage fills and exports are squeezed by the U.S. blockade, Bloomberg reported Monday, adding that it aims to reduce production by at least 25% to 500,000 barrels a day. At the same time, U.S. company Chevron has continued exporting Venezuelan crude under a special U.S. government license.
What People Are Saying
China's ambassador to the U.N. Sun Lei said during a Security Council meeting last week: "The US actions and rhetoric have led to continued tensions in the region, raising serious concerns among regional countries and the international community…We call the United States to heed the just call of the international community, immediately halt relevant actions, and avoid further escalation of tensions."
Russia's U.N. representative Vassily Nebenzia told the meeting: "For several months now, the entire world has been watching the United States deliberately fomenting tensions around Venezuela, which is a friend of ours…The illegal US blockade of Venezuela's coastline is a genuine act of aggression…Unfortunately, there is every reason to believe that these are not one-off acts by the US vis-à-vis Venezuela…"
What Happens Next
As the Thousand Sunny nears Venezuela's Jose Terminal in weeks and the Xing Ye waits nearby, the U.S. enforcement or otherwise of the declared blockade will shape whether the standoff will develop into a wider geopolitical confrontation.
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