Trump seizes seventh Venezuela-linked oil tanker

Date: January 20, 2026

Source: Daily Mail

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In a major escalation of the White House's 'maximum pressure' campaign against the Venezuelan regime, U.S. military forces have boarded and seized yet another oil tanker in the Caribbean.

The takeover of the Motor Vessel Sagitta on Tuesday marks the seventh vessel to be intercepted by American forces as the Trump administration tightens its grip on South American oil exports.

U.S. Southern Command confirmed the high–seas operation on social media, revealing that the vessel was apprehended 'without incident' and that the tanker was caught red–handed, 'operating in defiance of President Trump's established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean.'

SOUTHCOM did not confirm whether the U.S. Coast Guard led the boarding party, as it has in previous high–seas busts.

Video posted on X last week showed troops rappelling from a helicopter onto the deck of The Veronica in a pre–dawn seizure in the Caribbean. 

Marines and sailors captured the vessel without incident, the military command responsible for Central, South America and the Caribbean said on X.

'The only oil leaving Venezuela will be oil that is coordinated properly and lawfully,' it said. The tanker is the sixth seized in recent weeks.

Trump has enlisted Rodríguez to help secure US control over Venezuela's oil sales despite sanctioning her for human rights violations during his first–term.

The tanker Bertha, one of several that appear to have attempted to evade the US naval blockade of Venezuela

The U.S. military and Coast Guard have seized seven vessels in recent weeks in international waters that were either carrying Venezuelan oil or have done so in the past

The tanker known as "Ekta" isn't a single vessel but a name used for deception by sanctioned ships, particularly the crude tanker

Bertha (IMO 9292163), which spoofed its location to appear near Nigeria while actually leaving Venezuela; it's part of a "shadow fleet" moving sanctioned oil, with its real origin tied to vessels facilitating Venezuelan oil trade, often using fake identities and AIS data. 

Key Details:

• Real Ship: The vessel using the "Ekta" name is often the Bertha, a crude oil tanker.

• Deception Tactic: It hides its true location (often near Venezuela) by displaying the name "Ekta" (sometimes painted on the hull) and signaling coordinates near Nigeria, using AIS spoofing, according to The New York Times and X.

• Purpose: This tactic helps bypass U.S. sanctions on Venezuelan oil, with the ship loading oil in Venezuela and pretending to be elsewhere.

• Flag/Origin: While the Bertha is involved in these activities, other vessels might also use similar names; the Ekta (IMO 9073050) is a different tanker that sailed under the flag of Palau. 

In essence, "Ekta" is a ghost name for tankers involved in evading sanctions, not a vessel with a fixed home port, but linked to Venezuelan oil shipments

Other information:

Based on early January 2026 reports, the tanker previously operating under the name Ekta (also identified as the Bertha, and formerly the Bella 1 or Marinera) was captured by the US in the North Atlantic, near Iceland, while traveling toward Russia. 

• Initial Route: The vessel had recently left Venezuelan waters, where it was part of a "shadow fleet" trying to evade U.S. sanctions by turning off its tracking signal (going "dark").

• Destination: After evading an initial U.S. blockade in the Caribbean, the vessel sailed northeast into the Atlantic, reflagged as Russian, and was heading toward the Arctic port of Murmansk, Russia.

• Capture Point: US forces, including the Coast Guard, boarded and seized the vessel south of Iceland following a multi-week pursuit. 

Following the seizure, the tanker was escorted to the United Kingdom/Scotland before being taken to the United States for a judicial forfeiture process.