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.
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. seized the same day near Iceland after a two-week pursuit, was once listed on the country's registry but this stopped being the case as of October 7, 2024.
A ship's flag determines who has authority over it. The U.S. says that when a flag is canceled it can become stateless, meaning it lacks protections under international law and may be boarded or even seized.
Panama's maritime authority did not immediately respond to a request for more information on why the ships were no longer flagged as Panamanian.
The Bella-1 appeared to be the first time in recent memory that the U.S. military has seized a Russian-flagged vessel.
Wednesday's tanker seizures were third and
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