Hello, I am from overseas. Can someone please explain to me why would they do that? What is the goal, what is the plan, what is the intent? Thanks for any comments, I am utterly confused.
Imagine saying vile things about Somalians for weeks and then turning into an actual Somalian pirate (EDIT: a small fraction of Somalians). What a farce.
Interesting that I read elsewhere that most Venezuelan oil goes to China due to the sanctions. Would be nice to see them put a carrier group down there to guard their shipments...
Can someone explain why US sanctions on Iranian oil would have any relevance to Venezuela? And why the US would have any right to enforce those sanctions by seizing some other countries tanker? Or is this the US just doing what it wants because nobody will tell it otherwise?
There are shadow fleets of tankers trafficking oil across the world. Venezuelan oil is sanctioned as well as Iranian so no company without licenses and correct paperwork would touch it unless you move it enough to hide the origin. In the end they all know where it comes from but like the plausible deniability.
Most Venezuelan oil is very heavy and sour and needs to be mixed with lighter oil to be refined and they need access to restricted chemicals for the process. As it was explained to me a few months ago Iran provides lighter oil, solvents and materials for the refining and they take the heavier oil to sell it in the black market.
Sanctions aside the tanker was there for the taking by any government. Spoofing location and flying a false flag are enough to justify boarding and seizure by any country since it's a stateless ship likely involved in illegal activities.
In short yes, USA does it because it can and there's legal justification for it beyond "Trump oil, Trump bad lel", but as usual HN devolves to a potato when world events touch USA politics.
"The move came just hours after Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado left the country on a boat, an escape that potentially gave the Trump administration an opening to take more aggressive action against the Maduro regime" [1].
This ship is a known blockade runner. "The ship has frequently carried oil from countries under U.S. sanctions, and its tracking data shows multiple recent trips to Iran and Venezuela"
14 comments
[ 4.1 ms ] story [ 37.8 ms ] threadMost Venezuelan oil is very heavy and sour and needs to be mixed with lighter oil to be refined and they need access to restricted chemicals for the process. As it was explained to me a few months ago Iran provides lighter oil, solvents and materials for the refining and they take the heavier oil to sell it in the black market.
Sanctions aside the tanker was there for the taking by any government. Spoofing location and flying a false flag are enough to justify boarding and seizure by any country since it's a stateless ship likely involved in illegal activities.
In short yes, USA does it because it can and there's legal justification for it beyond "Trump oil, Trump bad lel", but as usual HN devolves to a potato when world events touch USA politics.
[1] https://www.wsj.com/world/americas/u-s-seizes-oil-tanker-off...
Spoiler alert: It wasn't
Trump tanker DWT: 310309
Sirius Star DWT: 318000
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/10/us/politics/oil-tanker-ve...
"It's OK when it's our guy."