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US Returns Seized “Shadow Fleet” Tanker to Venezuela in Rare Policy Reversal
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The United States has handed back the oil tanker M/T Sophia to Venezuelan authorities, marking the first known case in which the Trump administration has reversed a vessel seizure linked to Caracas, two US officials told Reuters on January 28.
The Panama-flagged tanker was intercepted in early January by the US Coast Guard with support from US military forces as part of Washington’s expanding campaign against what it describes as Venezuela’s “shadow fleet.”
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The officials did not explain why the vessel was returned, and it remains unclear whether the tanker was carrying oil at the time of the handover.
US authorities seized the Sophia on January 7, days after a US special forces operation targeting Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. At the time, Washington said the tanker was under sanctions, had “no nationality,” and qualified as a “stateless, sanctioned dark fleet motor tanker.”
The seizure was part of a broader US effort launched in December 2025 to interdict oil tankers connected to Venezuela. President Donald Trump announced at the time that US forces had detained a large crude carrier off Venezuela’s coast, later identified as the Skipper, which had been placed under US sanctions in 2022 for involvement in Iranian oil smuggling.
Following that incident, Trump declared a maritime blockade targeting sanctioned Venezuelan oil shipments.
In late December, US forces also detained the tanker Centuries and later pursued another Panama-flagged vessel, Bella 1, which was subsequently renamed Marinera and registered with the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping. Despite protests from Moscow, US forces seized the tanker in early January.
According to a Reuters tally, US authorities have intercepted seven tankers linked to Venezuela since late 2025.
US Coast Guard officials declined to comment on the return of the Sophia, while Venezuela’s communications ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Earlier, the Ukrainian Defense Intelligence Agency (HUR) publicly identified 66 vessels operated by Russia, Iran, and Venezuela that are allegedly involved in the transport of sanctioned oil and the theft of Ukrainian grain.
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