Sanctioned Oil Armada Slips Out Of Venezuela As US Blockade Bite

Sanctioned Oil Armada Slips Out Of Venezuela As US Blockade Bites

A shadow fleet of oil tankers has slipped out of Venezuelan waters loaded with millions of barrels of crude — openly defying Washington’s new blockade on Caracas — even as Donald Trump insists his oil embargo remains firmly in place following the dramatic capture of Nicolás Maduro.

Roughly a dozen tankers, many already under U.S. sanctions and now sailing without flags, tracking signals or valid safety papers, have quietly departed since the start of the year, according to industry sources and satellite monitoring service TankerTrackers.com. Several of the vessels are supertankers normally bound for China, but their current destinations are unknown.

The clandestine departures underline the chaos gripping Venezuela’s oil sector since the blockade froze exports last week — forcing state oil giant PDVSA to begin cutting production as storage tanks filled and loaded tankers were stranded offshore with nowhere to go. At one point, more than 20 million barrels of crude were stuck at sea.

A PDVSA source admitted the risks — and the pressure.

“We managed to get some supplies out,” the source said. “The shipments were authorized despite the risks, but we don’t think we can continue using that route.”

Meanwhile, Chevron has quietly restarted exports to the U.S., resuming shipments after a brief pause. The U.S. major remains the only firm legally permitted to export Venezuelan oil, thanks to a special Washington exemption, and has called staff back to work. One Chevron-chartered tanker is now hauling 300,000 barrels to the U.S. Gulf Coast.

That contrast — Chevron moving oil legally while PDVSA scrambles in the shadows — underscores how deeply the blockade is reshaping Venezuela’s last reliable source of hard currency. Oil exports remain the lifeblood of the government now headed by interim president Delcy Rodríguez, installed after Maduro’s U.S. extraction.

The White House has not clarified whether the escaped tankers slipped through unnoticed or were quietly tolerated. Trump, however, maintained the line — saying China and other major customers would continue receiving oil while stressing the embargo remains “in full force.” He also warned another strike on Venezuela is possible if authorities fail to open the oil sector or curb drug trafficking.

Several of the departing tankers reportedly sailed “dark” — switching off satellite tracking — a well-known ploy in the sanction-evading trade used by fleets linked to Iran and Russia.

Where the oil ultimately lands — and how aggressively Washington responds — now becomes the next flashpoint in an already explosive standoff.

Key Takeaways

• About a dozen sanctioned tankers secretly left Venezuela loaded with crude, many sailing without flags or tracking signals, despite a new U.S. export blockade.

• PDVSA has begun cutting oil output as storage fills and exports stall, while Chevron alone continues legal shipments to the U.S. under exemption.

• Trump warned further military action is possible, even as Venezuela’s interim leadership scrambles to keep oil revenue flowing and tankers evade detection at sea.

SOURCE: YAHOO / REUTERS