The United States has seized the oil tanker Olina in the Caribbean, marking the fifth vessel targeted in recent weeks as Washington intensifies efforts to restrict Venezuelan oil exports, according to US officials. The Olina, which shipping database Equasis lists as falsely flying the flag of Timor Leste, had previously sailed from Venezuela and returned to the region. An industry source said the vessel left Venezuela last week fully loaded with oil as part of a flotilla and was apprehended while returning during the ongoing US blockade of Venezuelan oil exports.

US Southern Command said the Olina was intercepted before dawn by marines and sailors from Joint Task Force Southern Spear, operating from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, and that the seizure occurred without incident. The vessel’s AIS tracking signal was last active 52 days ago in Venezuela’s exclusive economic zone, northeast of Curaçao, according to British maritime risk firm Vanguard, which described the action as part of a prolonged pursuit of tankers linked to sanctioned Venezuelan oil shipments. The United States had sanctioned the Olina in January last year, when it was operating under the name Minerva M, citing its alleged role in a so-called shadow fleet operating with limited regulation or insurance.

Another tanker from the same flotilla, the M Sophia, was seized earlier this week, while three others Skylyn, Min Hang, and Merope returned to Venezuelan waters on Thursday, and seven more were expected to do so on Friday and Saturday, according to the industry source. All oil aboard the ten tankers was said to be owned by Venezuela’s state producer PDVSA. It remains unclear whether the United States will take action against the remaining vessels, though Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the US blockade of sanctioned Venezuelan oil remains in force worldwide.