The United States boarded a third oil tanker off Venezuela's coast on December 21, 2025, as President Donald Trump intensifies an oil blockade, Bloomberg reported in the past 29 minutes citing people with knowledge of the matter. The boarding marks the latest in a series of U.S. actions against Venezuelan oil shipments, following the seizure of the Panamanian-flagged super tanker VLCC Centuries—also known as Skipper (IMO 9304667)—carrying 1.8 million barrels of Merey crude loaded at Jose under the false identification Crag in international waters east of Barbados, according to an X post by @HeverCastroB shared within the reporting window from 2:46 PM to 3:16 PM UTC. The VLCC Centuries arrived at the Galveston Offshore Lightering Area off Texas earlier during the prior reporting period ending at 2:46 PM UTC for cargo transfer to smaller tankers bound for Houston refineries, as previously reported by X account @TheIntelFrog. These developments coincide with a shipping advisory earlier on December 21 halting shipments to Venezuela due to an uncertain situation.
