L008-AGUAS INTERNACIONALES PETROLERO VENEZOLANO

STORY: The U.S. Coast Guard is pursuing an oil tanker in international waters near Venezuela, officials told Reuters on Sunday (December 21), in what would be the second such operation this weekend and the third in less than two weeks if successful.

Reuters was able to verify the BELLA 1 vessel tanker by the structures, cranes and design of the vessel that matched the file imagery. The date was verified by original file metadata and the location was provided by the source. A U.S. official confirmed the U.S. Coast Guard pursued an oil tanker in international waters near Venezuela, and British maritime risk management group Vanguard, along with a U.S. maritime security source, identified the vessel as Bella 1. The vessel tracking data showed the most recent location of the tanker at the Caribbean sea on December 17, 2025.

"The United States Coast Guard is in active pursuit of a sanctioned dark fleet vessel that is part of Venezuela's illegal sanctions evasion," a U.S. official said. “It is flying a false flag and under a judicial seizure order."

Another official said the tanker was under sanctions, but added that it had not been boarded so far and that interceptions can take different forms — including by sailing or flying close to vessels of concern.

The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, did not give a specific location for the operation or name the vessel being pursued.

The Bella 1, a crude oil carrier that is on the Treasury Department's sanctions list, was empty when it was approaching Venezuela on Sunday, according to TankerTrackers.com.

The vessel had in 2021 provided transportation for Venezuela's oil to China, according to internal documents from state company PDVSA. It had also previously carried Iranian crude, according to the vessel monitoring service.