United States Sells Two Sanctioned Oil Tankers to Dubai Recycling Yard | energynews. pro
The United States government sold two sanctioned oil tankers, seized as part of the military and customs campaign targeting Venezuela-linked oil trafficking, to a ship recycling yard based in Dubai. The. . .
The United States government sold two sanctioned oil tankers, seized as part of the military and customs campaign targeting Venezuela-linked oil trafficking, to a ship recycling yard based in Dubai. The transaction was disclosed in a report by Lloyd's List, relayed by a Reuters dispatch dated August 10, 2026. A military campaign triggered after the capture of Nicolás MaduroIn early January 2026, a US military operation in Caracas led to the capture of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, according to a message posted by US President Donald Trump on his Truth Social account on January 3, 2026, corroborated by a Pentagon briefing held the same day. The operation was part of a broader campaign of pressure on the country's oil exports. In the following days, US authorities launched a series of naval interceptions targeting tankers accused of carrying sanctioned oil linked to Venezuela, Iran and Russia. These vessels belong to what authorities and several media outlets describe as a shadow fleet, ships that frequently change name, flag and declared ownership to evade detection and sanctions, amid a broader context in whichoil prices rise as Iran maintains the Hormuz Strait blockade. The first of these tankers was intercepted after a pursuit lasting several weeks across the Atlantic, involving the US Coast Guard and special forces, with logistical and surveillance support from the United Kingdom. The vessel had changed its name and flown a Russian flag shortly before its capture, and Moscow protested the action, calling it contrary to international law. This tanker had previously been subject to a US designation, whose exact justification varies according to the sources consulted, with some linking it to the transport of Iranian oil and others pointing more broadly to Venezuela, Russia and Iran. These circumvention flows echo similar reconfigurations in the sector, as illustrated byGeorgia's Kulevi refinery, which has shifted to Kazakh and Libyan crude oil. Six tankers intercepted in the CaribbeanOther tankers were seized in the following weeks in the Caribbean, including one presented by authorities as the sixth vessel intercepted under this campaign, boarded by a Coast Guard tactical team supported by troops disembarked from a US aircraft carrier. Kristi Noem, US Secretary of Homeland Security, communicated on these successive seizures. The total number of tankers immobilized since the start of the military operation against Venezuela remained approximate in available reports, with the press citing an order of magnitude without detailing the identity of each vessel. Several other ships that switched to a Russian flag during the same period were also recorded by the press based on a Russian maritime registry, though this primary source could not be consulted directly. GMS buys two vessels for dismantling in IndiaIn July 2026 — a date obtained by converting the phrase "last month" used in the Reuters dispatch of August 10, 2026, with no precise date provided by the source — two of these tankers were purchased by Global Marketing Systems (GMS), a Dubai-based ship recycling company specialized in buying end-of-life vessels, for dismantling in India. Anil Sharma, founder and chief executive officer of GMS since the company's creation in 1992, said the sale had been authorized by a court decision, while noting complexities linked to uncertainty over the vessels' prior ownership. Neither the transaction amount nor the jurisdiction or exact reference of the court decision mentioned were specified in the available sources. The campaign continues beyond these salesThe episode is part of a US campaign that continued beyond these two sales, with further tanker interceptions reported in subsequent months, including outside the Caribbean zone. These new seizures involved vessels that had fled the region after the start of the military and customs operations targeting Venezuela-linked oil trafficking.