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U.S. eyes additional Coast Guard assets to seize fleeing tanker, sources say

24 December 2025 08:48 (UTC +04:00)

The U.S. Coast Guard is waiting for additional forces to arrive before potentially attempting to board and seize a Venezuela-linked oil tanker it has been pursuing since Sunday, a U.S. official and a source familiar with the matter told Reuters, APA reports.

The ship, which maritime groups have identified as the Bella 1, has refused to be boarded by the Coast Guard. That means that the task will likely fall to one of just two teams of specialists - known as Maritime Security Response Teams - who can board vessels under these circumstances, including by rappelling from helicopters.

The days-long pursuit highlights the mismatch between the Trump administration's desire to seize sanctioned oil tankers near Venezuela and the limited resources of the agency that is mainly carrying out operations, the Coast Guard.

Unlike the U.S. Navy, the Coast Guard can carry out law enforcement actions, including boarding and seizing vessels that are under U.S. sanctions.

Trump earlier this month ordered a "blockade" of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela, in Washington's latest move to increase pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

The Coast Guard has in recent weeks seized two oil tankers near Venezuela. After the first seizure, on Dec. 10, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi posted a 45-second video showing two helicopters approaching a vessel and armed individuals in camouflage rappelling onto it.

A Saturday social media post by the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the Coast Guard, showed what appeared to be Coast Guard officers aboard the Gerald Ford aircraft carrier getting ready to depart and seize the Centuries tanker, the second of the ships boarded by the U.S.

A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Coast Guard officials on the Ford were from a Maritime Security Response Team and at the time too far from Bella 1 to carry out a boarding operation.

"There are limited teams who are trained for these types of boardings," said Corey Ranslem, chief executive of maritime security group Dryad Global and previously with the U.S. Coast Guard.

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment and Reuters could not determine what, if any other reasons, have led to the Coast Guard not seizing the vessel yet.

The administration could ultimately choose to not board and seize the vessel.

The White House said that the United States was still in "active pursuit of a sanctioned dark fleet vessel that is part of Venezuela’s illegal sanctions evasion."