The United States hasn’t given up its pursuit of the massive, rusted oil tanker it chased into international waters near Venezuela last weekend, and officials are now contemplating moving additional resources into the area to forcibly board the ship, people familiar with the matter said. The pursuit stems from President Donald Trump’s order of a “blockade” on sanctioned Venezuelan oil tankers. That’s in contrast with the other two tankers successfully intercepted by the Coast Guard — the Skipper and the Centuries. The US piloted both to Texas and is planning to seize their oil cargoes. The ship has been linked to sanctioned Iranian oil and various Iranian proxy groups.

Source: CNN December 27, 2025 06:30 UTC