Three U.S. officials told the New York Times that the Guyana-flagged, Iranian-linked sanctioned crude oil tanker M/T Bella 1 refused boarding by the U.S. Coast Guard and is actively fleeing in the southern Caribbean off Venezuela's coast, according to an X post by @KyleJGlen within the 59 minutes ending at 2:16 AM UTC on December 22. Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA stated it has onshore crude storage capacity of approximately five days and, in the best-case scenario, an additional seven days at sea depending on fleet operability, according to PDVSA as cited in an X post by @RyanBergPhD over the past hour. @RyanBergPhD also quoted a Bloomberg article from December 21 stating that advanced U.S. Navy radar and satellite technologies render turning off transponders or using false flags insufficient to evade detection, with the blockade potentially resulting in a total stoppage of Venezuela’s crude exports. This development follows U.S. boarding of a third Venezuelan oil tanker off the coast on December 21, as reported by Bloomberg and cited in prior coverage, along with earlier pursuits of the Bella 1—which had refused boarding near coordinates 18N 58W—and the Centuries, for which Panama granted permission, according to U.S. officials cited by The Washington Post.
