Sanctioned Tankers are a Safety and Environmental Hazard: Ghost Fleets are Extensions of Criminal Networks: “Stateless and Beyond Substandard”

     Salty seawater enhances the process of rusting or oxidation. Steel ship hulls rust, which reduces their lifespan.  Many of the tankers used to transport sanctioned oil are substandard. It was reported that some vessels used to transport Venezuelan oil that were seized by U.S. authorities were in such bad shape that they couldn’t enter U.S. ports. The Coast Guard is dispatching inspection and repair teams. One message from the Coast Guard described them as "stateless and beyond substandard."

     The U.S has seized four ghost fleet tankers off the coast of Venezuela, with one fleeing after it tried to change its affiliation to Russia. It was captured in the North Atlantic near Europe. 

     DHS chief Kristi Noem noted:

"The ghost fleets will not outrun justice. They will not hide under false claims of nationality.”

“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.”

     I think this enforcement action is a good idea. These ships are endangering the ocean with higher chances for spills and accidents, especially as they change routes, hide by turning off transponders (which resulted in one destructive collision), and ship-to-ship oil transfers.  

“There are hundreds of such vessels, and often they are in terrible shape, said Mark Cancian, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. They’re likely to be declined entry into a U.S. port if they don’t meet its safety standards or there’s risk of a spill,” he said.

“They tend to be at the end of their service life — old, in poor condition,” Cancian said.

     The Coast Guard is seeking more personnel who can inspect and repair the ships.

     The Washington Post also reported this week that 11 tankers have evaded the U.S. blockade. Ten of the tankers are loaded with oil or naptha (which is used to help heavy Venezuelan crude flow through pipelines). It is estimated that these tankers are collectively carrying the equivalent of 9.4 million barrels of oil. Six were in the Caribbean, others were out to sea, and one was along the Colombian coast. The blockade, which Secretary of State Marco Rubio called a “quarantine” to apply leverage to the current Venezuelan regime. In addition to evading sanctions on Venezuela, some of the ships are also defying sanctions on Russia and Iran. I am in agreement that this sanctions-evasion network needs to be dismantled.

“The ships’ apparent success in skirting the blockade — while carrying hundreds of millions of dollars worth of oil — raises questions about the effectiveness of the blockade, said Gregory Brew, an international energy analyst with the Eurasia group.

“If this is a tool that the U.S. wants to use to maintain a degree of control or influence over Caracas, it’s a tool that they have to demonstrate can be used effectively and consistently,” Brew said.

“Another analyst said the number of ships that have gotten through is probably an indication of how many shipowners are willing to take extraordinary risks.

“It’s very difficult to have a 100 percent blockade,” said Jorge Leon, the head of geopolitical analysis for Rystad Energy, a research and consultancy firm.

“He said a blockade largely aims to deter defiance through seizures and other shows of force.

     One of the tankers, Russia’s Sea Maverick, is carrying 380,000 barrels of diluent (to get oil to flow better), Russian naphtha. Another goal of the blockade is to put Russia, and likely Iran, out of business in Venezuela, a goal I support.

     According to Bloomberg:

“Last year, Russia was sending an average of roughly 30,000 barrels a day of naphtha to Venezuela, far more than any other country, Vortexa data shows. That has since fizzled to zero. More than half of Venezuela’s roughly 1 million barrels a day of oil production is pumped from its Orinoco Belt region, which yields heavy crude that must be diluted for export to countries including China, one of the top buyers of Venezuelan crude.”

“The US has signaled that American supplies of light crude will replace Russian naphtha, though the details and timeline have yet to be determined.”

“US diluent (light crude oil) will flow into Venezuela, as required, to mix, upgrade, and optimize the production and transport of Venezuela’s very heavy (high viscosity) crude oil,” the Energy Department said in a fact sheet released on Wednesday.

“The US previously served as Venezuela’s dominant naphtha supplier. In 2018, just before the US imposed significant sanctions on Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela SA, all of Caracas’s imports were from the US Gulf Coast via trading houses including Reliance Industries Ltd., Citgo Petroleum Corp.’s LDC Supply Trading, Vitol Group and Trafigura.”

“More recently, Chevron appears to have sent the diluent as part of a so-called cargo swap, where oil products replace cash as tax on Venezuelan crude.”

“But US President Donald Trump last year revoked a license for some energy companies, including Chevron Corp., to do work in the country, leading Venezuela to turn to Russia for naphtha supplies. Even after the license was reinstated, Caracas continued to source the diluent almost exclusively from Moscow, in an apparent effort to strengthen economic ties.”

     Since then, U.S. naptha supplies are very high, and producers would appreciate a return to Venezuelan sales.

 

References:

 

Some sanctioned vessels seized by the US are in such poor condition that they can't enter US ports: report: 'Beyond substandard'. Demian Bio. January 9, 2026. Some sanctioned vessels seized by the US are in such poor condition that they can't enter US ports: report: 'Beyond substandard'

Coast Guard prepares for influx of seized ‘ghost fleet’ oil tankers. Tara Copp. Washington Post. January 9, 2026. U.S. Coast Guard prepares for influx of seized ‘ghost fleet’ oil tankers - The Washington Post

Drifting tanker reveals major hurdle for Trump plan to revive Venezuela’s oil. Mia Gindis. Bloomberg. January 9, 2026. Drifting tanker reveals major hurdle for Trump plan to revive Venezuela’s oil

11 tankers under U.S. sanctions defy blockade in Venezuela, satellite imagery indicates. Samuel Oakford, Joyce Sohyun Lee, Susannah George and Amaya Verde. Washinton Post. January 10, 2026. Sanctioned oil tankers have broken beyond U.S. blockade in Venezuela - The Washington Post