U.S. forces boarded an oil tanker on Friday in a pre-dawn action, the U.S. Southern Command announced. This view shows the bulk carrier Ithaca Patience (R) and the crude oil tanker Nord Star, both from Panama, anchored on Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela on Jan. 7, 2026. "Early this morning, the [U.S. Coast Guard] executed a boarding and seizure of the Motor Tanker Olina in international waters east of the Caribbean Sea. As another "ghost fleet" tanker ship suspected of carrying embargoed oil, this vessel had departed Venezuela attempting to evade U.S. forces," Noem wrote on X . The Coast Guard will seize sanctioned oil tankers, enforce U.S. and international law, and eliminate these funding streams for illicit activity including narco-terrorism," Noem added.

Source: Fox News January 09, 2026 15:30 UTC