Despite U.S. "Blockade," Foreign-Flagged Tankers Arrive in Venezuela

Foreign-flagged tankers continue to call in Venezuela despite a White House "quarantine" order and the new U.S. policy of seizing Venezuela-linked ships, according to TankerTrackers.com.

The independent consultancy told Reuters that it was aware of at least two sanctioned vessels that have arrived in Venezuela in recent days. Two more unsanctioned vessels are reportedly en route. Lloyds List has identified these vessels as the Thousand Sunny and the Xing Ye, both Chinese-flagged. Xing Ye is reportedly loitering off the coast of French Guiana. China has opposed U.S. intervention in Venezuela's tanker trade, and the arrival of unsanctioned, Chinese-flagged tonnage would complicate Washington's geopolitical calculations for enforcement of the "blockade."

Two laden VLCCs have been captured to date, and one has already arrived at an anchorage off Galveston in U.S. custody. One more noncompliant ship - the Bella 1 - is being "pursued" in the Atlantic, and the crew has decided to paint a Russian flag on the vessel in an attempt to deter an American boarding, officials told the New York Times on Tuesday. Russia is a longtime ally of Venezuela, and has recently spoken out against the U.S. naval cordon.

"The illegal US blockade of Venezuela's coastline is a genuine act of aggression," Russian diplomat Vassily Nebenzia told a UN gathering last week. "Unfortunately, there is every reason to believe that these are not one-off acts by the US vis-a-vis Venezuela."

Bella 1 has reportedly altered course northwards, and is said to be headed in the general direction of the Greenland-Iceland-UK Gap. The ship ceased broadcasting on AIS several weeks ago, and her position and heading were not possible to verify independently.

Coast Guard officials earlier told the Times that any interdiction of the Bella 1 would have to wait for the arrival of a specially-trained boarding, search and seizure team.