Venezuela oil exports reportedly fall sharply after US seizure of tanker

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Venezuelan oil exports have reportedly fallen sharply since the US seized a tanker this week and imposed fresh sanctions on shipping companies and vessels doing business with Caracas, according to shipping data, documents and maritime sources.

The US seizure of the Skipper tanker off Venezuela’s coast on Wednesday was the first US capture of Venezuelan oil cargo since sanctions were imposed in 2019 and marked a sharp escalation in rising tensions between the Trump administration and the government of Nicolás Maduro.

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Since the seizure, only tankers chartered by US oil company Chevron have sailed into international waters carrying Venezuelan crude, the data reviewed by the Reuters news agency showed. Chevron has US government authorisation to operate through joint ventures in the country and export its oil to the US.

Other tankers that have loaded about 11m barrels of oil and fuel are stuck in Venezuelan waters, according to the sources and data seen by Reuters.

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At the same time, Venezuelan lawmakers took a step to withdraw the country from the international criminal court, which is currently investigating alleged human rights abuses in the South American country.

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Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, spoke by phone with Maduro about “peace” in South America, the Brazilian presidency said on Friday.

Lula, one of Latin America’s most influential leaders, had not spoken to Maduro since Venezuela’s 2024 presidential election, the results of which Brazil – along with much of the international community – did not recognise.

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