The United States Coast Guard pursued the sanctioned dark fleet tanker BELLA 1 near Venezuela over the past two hours ending at 6:16 PM UTC on December 21, 2025, as the vessel, flying a false flag and under a judicial seizure order, evaded sanctions on Venezuelan oil shipments, a U.S. official stated to the Washington Post. Axios reported the interception of this third oil tanker off Venezuela's coast during the reporting window from 4:17 PM to 6:16 PM UTC, citing sources that identified BELLA 1 (IMO 9230880) as en route to load crude, though conflicting accounts exist on whether U.S. forces have fully boarded the vessel. Reuters confirmed the pursuit by officials in a report published within the period. The Coast Guard action follows distress signals from BELLA 1 near coordinates 18N 58W earlier on December 21, as relayed by nearby vessels, according to U.S. officials cited by Reuters correspondent Steve Holland in a prior update. This marks the third such U.S. operation against Venezuelan oil tankers this day, after boarding another vessel off the coast, per Bloomberg sources from earlier periods. Previously seized tanker VLCC Centuries, also known as Skipper (IMO 9304667), carrying 1.8 million barrels of Merey crude from Jose, Venezuela, arrived at the Galveston Offshore Lightering Area off Texas for cargo transfer, as reported in updates before 4:17 PM UTC. A shipping advisory issued earlier on December 21 halted shipments to Venezuela amid the uncertain situation.
