Coast Guard prepares for influx of seized ‘ghost fleet’ oil tankers

In response to the Trump administration’s targeting of Venezuelan oil exports, the U.S. Coast Guard plans to ramp up its capacity for inspecting and repairing tanker vessels it has seized at sea, according to correspondence reviewed by the Washington Post.

This week, the Coast Guard issued a call for personnel to beef up its teams of inspectors who travel out to seized tankers, assess them and fix safety concerns that might keep the vessels from being accepted at U.S. ports, according to the request. The message does not indicate how many personnel are being sought, but it does specify that those eligible for the assignment must be “capable of offshore boardings and long hours aboard the vessel.”

The initiative, which has not previously been reported, is the latest sign that a recent spate of ship seizures by the U.S. military is likely to continue for the foreseeable future. The Coast Guard referred questions about its plan to the White House, which did not respond to a request for comment.

U.S. Southern Command on Friday reported that it had seized another vessel, the Olina, in the Caribbean Sea. The operation was conducted by U.S. Marines and Coast Guard personnel who launched from the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem wrote on social media that the vessel was “suspected of carrying embargoed oil” and had attempted “to evade U.S. forces” as it departed Venezuela.

Not all of the vessels being boarded or seized are in good enough condition to be accepted by U.S. facilities, which is why the Coast Guard is ramping up its inspection and repair teams. “These vessels are stateless and beyond substandard,” the Coast Guard said in its internal message seeking candidates for the fast-expanding mission.

President Donald Trump, in a social media post acknowledging Friday’s military operation, said the Olina was “on its way back to Venezuela” and that its oil will be sold “through the GREAT Energy Deal, which we have created for such sales.”

In the days since U.S. forces swooped into Caracas and captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, the Trump administration has indicated that the U.S. will be controlling all aspects of Venezuela’s oil industry, to include selling its oil. The U.S. also is continuing to aggressively enforce a naval blockade of Venezuela, in part to force its interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, to cooperate with the administration’s demands.

Since Trump announced the blockade in mid-December, the Coast Guard has taken at least four vessels into custody. The first, the oil tanker Skipper, continues to be held offshore near the Port of Galveston in Texas. Two other tankers – the Bella-1, which U.S. forces boarded in the North Atlantic after a weekslong pursuit, and the Sophia, which was targeted in the Caribbean – were seized Wednesday.

The Bella-1, which was hastily renamed and reflagged to seek Russian protection as U.S. forces gave pursuit, was part of a “ghost fleet” of ships that operate under false paperwork or false flags – often not disclosing their locations – and move oil that is under sanction to markets in China or elsewhere. The U.S. government has alleged that such oil sales fund narco-terrorism, which it cited as justification for the seizure made Wednesday.

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 are likely to be declined entry into a U.S. port if they do not meet its safety standards or there is 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 request reviewed by the Post says it is anticipating “an influx” of these vessels and is looking for personnel who could “identify and rectify the highest risk deficiencies” on the ships before handing them off to the ports that will house them.

Separately Friday, the U.S. took halting first steps toward a resumption of diplomatic operations in Venezuela, with diplomatic and security staff from the United States’ Venezuela Affairs Unit – including interim chargé d’affaires John McNamara – traveling to Caracas, according to a U.S. official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel movements in a fluid security environment.