UPDATE: US boards fifth sanctioned tanker

US forces have boarded another falsely flagged and sanctioned tanker on Friday as the blockade on Venezuela intensifies.

US-sanctioned aframax Olina (IMO: 9282479) was boarded in the early hours of the morning in the Caribbean.

The US military confirmed the boarding after this article was initially published.

“Once again, our joint interagency forces sent a clear message this morning: ‘There is no safe haven for criminals.’,” US Southern Command said on in a social media post on X.

“In a pre-dawn action, Marines and Sailors from Joint Task Force Southern Spear, in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security, launched from the USS Gerald R. Ford and apprehended Motor/Tanker Olina in the Caribbean Sea without incident.”

Olina was among a group of tankers that attempted to evade the US blockade on Saturday by coordinating their departure, likely in an attempt to overwhelm US forces.

A seizure of Olina would mark the fifth tanker taken by the US since the blockade on Venezuela began with the seizure of the very large crude carrier Skipper (IMO: 9304667) on December 10, 2025.

The 2005-built Olina stopped broadcasting Automatic Identification System data in November when it was falsely flying the flag of Timor-Leste. The vessel was issued a forged provisional registry certificate that expired in early December, according to documents seen by Lloyd’s List.

According to Vortexa, the vessel loaded Merey crude from Venezuela’s Jose Terminal in late December. It had also carried Iranian and Russian oil in the past.

The vessel is sanctioned by the US, UK, and EU in connection with Russia trades.

In January of last year, the US Treasury Department sanctioned Olina’s owner, Hong Kong-based Sunne Company Limited, along with six seven other vessels it identified as being part of the “shadow fleet” and owned by Sunne.

Story updated with US confirmation of the seizure.