Oil Tankers News

Two tankers suspected of illegal ship-to-ship oil transfers were detained and more than 512 million ringgit ($129.9 million) worth of crude oil seized 24 nautical miles west of Muka Head, Penang last week, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency said on Saturday.The agency did not specify the origin of the oil being transferred.The waters off Malaysia are known as a regular site for illegal ship-to-ship transfers, where oil is shifted between tankers at sea to obscure its origin.

Tankers International has extended its coverage beyond the VLCC market to include Suezmax vessels. With the formation of a new pool, International Seaways, who today acquired sole ownership of Tankers International, will add their spot trading Suezmaxes to Tankers International’s long-standing platform.A dedicated Suezmax pool provides greater flexibility to secure cargoes across similar crude movements, while expanding optionality to routes beyond those accessible to VLCCs.Charlie Grey…

The captain of a Venezuela-linked crude oil tanker seized by the U.S. this month has been taken from British territorial waters and is now aboard a U.S. Coast Guard vessel, a lawyer for the captain's wife said on Tuesday.The U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. military special forces, bearing a judicial seizure warrant, apprehended the Russian-flagged Marinera in the Atlantic near Iceland on January 7 after pursuing it for more than two weeks as part of Washington's efforts to block Venezuelan oil exports.After its capture…

The captain of an oil tanker intercepted by the French navy has been detained under investigations into whether it was operating under a false flag, the Marseille prosecutor’s office said on Sunday.The vessel named Grinch was seized in the Mediterranean on Thursday, then diverted to anchor off the French port city, on suspicion of being part of the shadow fleet that lets Russia export oil despite sanctions.The 58-year-old captain, an Indian national, was detained as part of the preliminary investigations, the prosecutors said in a statement that did not mention Russia.The vessel left the Russi

A crude tanker chartered by Trafigura departed on Sunday from Venezuela's Jose port to Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP), LSEG data and documents showed, the first cargo going directly to the U.S. as part of a 50-million-barrel supply deal agreed this month between Caracas and Washington.This month, trading houses Vitol and Trafigura received the first U.S. licenses to load and export Venezuelan oil as part of the deal. They have since shipped cargoes to storage terminals in the Caribbean…

The French navy on Thursday intercepted a Russian tanker in the Mediterranean suspected to be part of the shadow fleet that enables Russia to export oil despite sanctions."This operation was carried out ... with the support of several of our allies. It was conducted in full compliance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea," French President Emmanuel Macron said on X.The interception was carried out on high seas in the Western Mediterranean, between the southern coast of Spain and the northern coast of Morocco…

The U.S. military said it seized a Venezuela-linked tanker on Tuesday in the Caribbean, marking the seventh such apprehension since the start of U.S. President Donald Trump's month-long campaign to control Venezuela's oil flows.The U.S. military's Southern Command, which is overseeing nearly a dozen warships and thousands of troops in the Caribbean, said in a statement it apprehended the Motor Vessel Sagitta "without incident.""The apprehension of another tanker operating in defiance…

The U.S. government has filed for court warrants to seize dozens more tankers linked to the Venezuelan oil trade, four sources familiar with the matter said, as Washington consolidates control of oil shipments in and out of the South American country.The U.S. military and Coast Guard have seized five vessels in recent weeks in international waters that were either carrying Venezuelan oil or have done so in the past. The seizures were part of Washington's campaign to force Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro out of power that culminated in U.S.

Three Greek-managed oil tankers were hit by unidentified drones in the Black Sea on Tuesday as they were on their way to load crude at a terminal on Russia's coast, sources told Reuters.The attacks come as Kazakhstan's oil production, most of which is exported via the terminal, cratered in early January.It was not immediately clear who was behind Tuesday's strikes. Ukraine did not immediately comment. The Caspian Pipeline Consortium, which operates the terminal where the tankers were due to take on board cargoes…

At least two supertankers, not under sanctions, were departing Venezuelan waters on Monday carrying crude, according to monitoring service Tankertrackers.com and shipping records from state-run company PDVSA seen by Reuters.Venezuela's oil exports had remained at an almost complete standstill since mid-December, when U.S. President Donald Trump announced a blockade of all sanctioned vessels going in and out the OPEC country's waters.U.S. forces intercepted and seized five Venezuela-linked vessels as a way to pressure the government…

Panama's maritime authority on Thursday said it had canceled in January of last year the flag of the M Sophia, a Venezuela-linked oil tanker seized by the U.S. military this week.The U.S. military's Southern Command on Wednesday said it had intercepted the M Sophia before dawn, and described it as a "stateless, sanctioned dark fleet motor tanker." Panamanian authorities canceled the supertanker's flag on January 23, 2025, the AMP authority said in a statement.The maritime authority also said the Bella-1, a Russian-flagged tanker the U.S.

Frontline plc has announced a strategic fleet renewal initiative, involving both the acquisition of new vessels and the sale of older vessels.The company has entered into an agreement to sell eight of its oldest first-generation ECO very large crude carriers (VLCCs), built between 2015 and 2016. These vessels are being sold for a total sales price of $831.5 million, with delivery to the new owner scheduled during the first quarter of 2026.After repayment of existing debt on the vessels…

The United States is attempting to seize a Russian-flagged oil tanker with links to Venezuela after a more than two-week-long pursuit across the Atlantic and as a Russian submarine and warship were close by, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Wednesday.The seizure, which could stoke tensions with Russia, came after the tanker, originally known as the Bella-1, slipped through a U.S. maritime "blockade" of sanctioned tankers and rebuffed U.S. Coast Guard efforts to board it.The officials…

Lila Global, a ship owner operating crude oil and chemical/product tankers, has joined the International Association of Independent Tanker Owners (INTERTANKO).Lila Global operates eight tankers trading across crude oil and refined product markets. The fleet comprises two crude oil tankers and six product and chemical tankers, classed with leading classification societies.Leading tanker managers in Dubai and Singapore provide technical management and run the vessels under established tanker safety and quality systems…

Venezuela's state-run oil company PDVSA has begun cutting crude production because it is running out of storage capacity due to an ongoing U.S. oil blockade that has reduced exports to zero, piling more pressure on an interim government trying to hang onto power in the face of U.S. threats of more military action.Caracas is in political crisis under an interim government after President Nicolas Maduro and his wife were captured by U.S. forces on Saturday. The OPEC country's oil exports, its main source of revenue, are now at a standstill following a U.S.

The White House has ordered U.S. military forces to focus almost exclusively on enforcing a "quarantine" of Venezuelan oil for at least the next two months, a U.S. official told Reuters, indicating Washington is currently more interested in using economic rather than military means to pressure Caracas."While military options still exist, the focus is to first use economic pressure by enforcing sanctions to reach the outcome the White House is looking (for)," the official said on Wednesday…

Iran has seized a foreign oil tanker near the Iranian island of Qeshm in the Gulf, saying it was carrying 4 million litres of smuggled fuel, state media reported on Friday.Authorities did not name the vessel or disclose its nationality. They said 16 foreign crew members had been detained on criminal charges.

Venezuela on Thursday authorized two very large crude carriers (VLCC) to set sail for China, according to two sources familiar with Venezuela's oil export operations, which would be only the second and third supertankers to depart the country since the U.S. seized a ship carrying Venezuelan oil last week.The U.S. has said it would not allow vessels under sanction to leave Venezuelan waters. The departing tankers, each carrying around 1.9 million barrels of Venezuelan Merey heavy crude according to internal documents from state company PDVSA, are not on the U.S.

U.S. President Donald Trump ordered on Tuesday a "blockade" of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela, in Washington's latest move to increase pressure on Nicolas Maduro's government, targeting its main source of income.It is unclear how Trump will impose the move against the sanctioned vessels, and whether he will turn to the Coast Guard to interdict vessels like he did last week. The administration has moved thousands of troops and nearly a dozen warships - including an aircraft carrier - to the region."For the theft of our Assets…

The European Union adopted fresh sanctions against Russian oil interests on Monday, targeting traders Murtaza Lakhani and Etibar Eyyub for helping Moscow to circumvent Western sanctions on crude exports that help to fund Russia's war in Ukraine.The EU has imposed 19 packages of sanctions so far, but Moscow has managed to adapt to most measures and is still selling millions of barrels of oil to India and China, albeit at discounts to global prices. Much of this is transported using…

A tanker carrying Russian naphtha for Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA and at least four supertankers due to pick up crude cargoes in Venezuela have made u-turns after the U.S. seized a vessel carrying Venezuelan crude, ship monitoring data showed on Monday.The U.S. Coast Guard last week intercepted and seized a very large crude carrier (VLCC) carrying some 1.85 million barrels of Venezuelan heavy oil sold by PDVSA, a sign of increasing friction between Venezuela and the U.S.…

Iranian authorities detained 18 crew members of a foreign tanker seized in the Gulf of Oman on Friday that they said was carrying 6 million litres of smuggled fuel, Iranian media reported on Saturday.Iran, which has some of the world's lowest fuel prices due to heavy subsidies and the plunge in the value of its national currency, has been fighting rampant fuel smuggling by land to neighboring countries and by sea to Gulf Arab states.(Reuters - Reporting by Menna Alaa El-Din and Dubai Newsroom; Editing by Jan Harvey)

Discussions on the need to tighten sanctions on Russia, including the possibility of a blanket ban on providing maritime services, should not be at the expense of legitimate businesses in the industry, key EU shipping nations Cyprus and Malta said.The Group of Seven countries and the European Union are in talks to replace a price cap on Russian oil exports with a full maritime services ban in an attempt to reduce the oil revenue that helps finance Russia's war in Ukraine, Reuters exclusively reported on Dec.