U.S. teams board tanker Olina in Caribbean as part of Venezuela oil operations

A joint U.S. Coast Guard and Navy team boarded the oil tanker Olina in the Caribbean Sea early Friday, the U.S. Southern Command said, in the latest operation tied to the Trump administration’s effort to control Venezuela’s oil exports. The Olina is the fifth vessel to be boarded or seized by U.S.

forces in the last month. Southern Command said Marines and sailors assigned to Joint Task Force Southern Spear, working with the Department of Homeland Security, launched from the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford and apprehended the tanker “without incident.” The vessel had been sailing under a false flag registered to Timor-Leste, the International Maritime Organization said.

Tracking firms Kpler and TankerTrackers.com, and The New York Times’s independent verification, reported the Olina loaded roughly 700,000 barrels of oil at Venezuela’s José Terminal in late December and early January. Ship-tracking data showed the vessel had not broadcast a location signal for nearly two months, a tactic often called “going dark,” and satellite imagery placed the Olina at the edge of the Caribbean heading northeast toward the Atlantic as part of a group of ships being chased by U.S.

forces. Unlike in the recent seizure of the Marinera, U.S. authorities did not have a court-issued warrant to seize the Olina, an official familiar with the operation who was not authorized to speak publicly said.

Key Topics

World, Olina, Venezuela, José Terminal, U.s. Southern Command, Gerald R. Ford