U.S. forces intercepted and seized a sanctioned oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, marking a serious escalation of tensions between the two countries.
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Deterrence
The U.S. move is likely to deter others from shipping Venezuelan crude, according to Matthew Thomas, a partner at Blank Rome in Washington who specializes in international trade and maritime law. “Most mainstream tanker trade has been steering clear of Venezuela because of the sanctions and increasing tensions,” he said. “But even for marginal shippers and dark fleets the potential for asset seizure builds an extra layer of deterrence.”
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"U.S. Forces Seize Sanctioned Oil Tanker off Venezuelan Coast," by Eric Martin, Patricia Garip, and Ben Bartenstein was published in Bloomberg on December 10, 2025.
