The U.S. Coast Guard seized a second oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela on Saturday as the Trump administration intensifies efforts to enforce an oil blockade on the country. The boarding occurred early in the morning when Coast Guard vessels intercepted the Motor Tanker Centuries, a Panama-flagged ship recently departed from a Venezuelan port.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem publicly confirmed the seizure, releasing a short video and stating: “PREPARE TO BE BOARDED. This morning @USCG in coordination with the @DeptofWar executed a lightning strike operation to seize the Motor Tanker Centuries, which is suspected of carrying oil subject to U.S. sanctions. The iron fist of America’s joint military and federal law enforcement rules the waves.”
The ship was estimated to be carrying roughly two million barrels of Venezuelan crude oil reportedly owned by a Chinese company and destined for Chinese refineries. The seizure suggests the U.S. is widening its enforcement strategy: unlike the Skipper, seized last week, the Centuries had not previously been sanctioned and was not publicly linked to the “shadow fleet” Washington has long targeted.
Venezuelan authorities have not issued an official response to the seizure. After the Skipper was taken, reports surfaced that the Venezuelan Navy had begun deployments to counter the blockade, though no direct engagements have been confirmed.
Trump announced last week that Venezuelan oil shipments would be blockaded. Administration messaging has since shifted from initial counter-narcotics justifications toward accusations that Venezuela “stole” U.S. oil and land—an apparent reference to former President Hugo Chávez’s 2007 nationalization reforms, which required foreign companies to grant a 60 percent majority stake to the Venezuelan state or face expropriation.
Despite the rhetoric shift, Washington has continued to conduct maritime strikes on vessels it alleges are involved in narcotics trafficking. At least 13 people were killed in five such strikes over the past week, bringing the reported total since operations began on September 2 to more than 100.