Video: US seizes sixth tanker, with links to Russia, off Venezuela

The US Southern Command said a team of US Coast Guard (USCG) sailors and US Marines have taken control of another tanker in the Caribbean Sea, the sixth tanker tied to sanctioned trading of Venezuelan oil seized by the US military since forces seized a Venezuela-linked VLCC in early December. 

Posting to its feed on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), the US Southern Command said a tactical team of marines and sailors from Joint Task Force Southern Spear launched from USS Gerald R Ford and ’apprehended Motor/Tanker Veronica without incident’. The US has named its military operation off the coast of Venezuela Southern Spear.

A video posted to the US Southern Command feed and the USCG feed showed infrared footage of a helicopter approaching a tanker vessel, with soldiers descending to the vessel’s deck. That video can be viewed at the end of this story. 

According to the US Southern Command, the vessel seized was "operating in defiance of President Trump’s established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean". Kpler reported that the vessel was one of more than 15 ships that sailed from Venezuela earlier in January in an attempt to outrun a blockade of Venezuela ports by US forces.  

While the military referred to the vessel as Veronica, the Equasis vessel database shows that the 115,527-dwt vessel changed its name to Galileo on 1 January 2026. The ship is, according to Equasis, Russian flagged and was Russian owned and commercially managed in December 2025 and January 2026 before apparently being sold to an unknown company on 9 January 2026.

Posting about the latest vessel seizure, the USCG said on X that US forces are "bringing every capability at our disposal to interdict ghost fleet tankers and uphold international law." 

In the intervening week between the US’ fifth vessel seizure and that of Veronica/Galileo, Riviera reported on court documents showing that the US is asking federal courts for warrants to seize tankers in forfeiture claims and Reuters reported that US President Donald Trump’s administration is looking to secure US court approvals to confiscate ’dozens’ more vessels.

• US asking federal courts for warrants to seize tankers in forfeiture claims
• Video: US confirms fifth Venezuela-linked tanker seized in Caribbean Sea
• US confirms seizure of Russia-flagged oil tanker in Atlantic and another tanker in Caribbean
• Venezuela: how US action will redraw the tanker trades
• Trump uses social media to order ’complete blockade’ of sanctioned tankers visiting Venezuela
• US adds to Venezuelan sanctions with VLCC targets, does not rule out seizing more ships
• Video: US forces seize oil tanker off Venezuela