Unnamed U.S. officials told The Washington Post that the Coast Guard received permission from Panama's government to board the tanker Centuries using "right of visit" maritime law after suspecting illicit activity, clarifying the vessel was not flying a false flag, according to an X post by @TheIntelFrog shared over the past 59 minutes ending at 10:46 PM UTC on December 21, 2025. The official, speaking anonymously on details not yet public, stated the Centuries is not under U.S. sanctions, prompting reliance on the maritime law for inspection off Venezuela's coast, as quoted in the X post linking to a Washington Post article published December 20, 2025. This update follows U.S. Coast Guard pursuit of the sanctioned tanker BELLA 1 (IMO 9230880) earlier on December 21, which refused boarding between 7:17 PM and 7:46 PM UTC near coordinates 18N 58W and issued distress signals, according to the New York Times citing U.S. officials and prior X posts by @trbrtc. Satellite imagery previously showed BELLA 1 spoofing its location after picking up Iranian oil in August and heading to Venezuela to load about 1 million barrels of crude for a company linked to sanctioned businessman Ramón Carretero, as reported by @trbrtc in earlier periods on December 21.
