The United States is returning a tanker seized in January to Venezuela, two US officials told Reuters.
This is the first known case in which the Trump administration has returned a tanker. The ship in question is the Panamanian-flagged M/T Sophia. Officials did not disclose the reason for the return. The Sophia was intercepted on January 7 by the Coast Guard and US military forces, the agency said.
The US administration said the Sophia is subject to sanctions, has "no nationality" and belongs to a "shadow fleet". According to the agency, since the end of 2025, the US has seized seven tankers linked to Venezuela.
The US began seizing Venezuelan tankers on December 10, 2025. At that time, Trump announced that US forces had seized a large oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. According to media reports, the ship in question is the Skipper, which the US sanctioned in 2022 for its involvement in smuggling Iranian oil.
On December 17, Trump officially announced a maritime oil blockade against Venezuela. In late December, the US seized a second Venezuelan tanker, the Centuries, and then began pursuing the Panamanian-flagged Bella 1.
It was later reported that the Bella 1 had been renamed and added to the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping. The Russian government sent a diplomatic note to the United States demanding that it cease its pursuit of the tanker.
Following the seizure of the Bella 1, U.S. forces continued their operations against ships involved in carrying sanctioned oil from Caracas. In early January, the U.S. seized the Marinera, a tanker that had left Venezuelan waters and changed its flag from Panamanian to Russian, with Russian citizens on board.
On January 8, the Russian Foreign Ministry condemned the “illegal use of force” and called for an end to the pursuit.
The tanker Sophia was also seized in the Caribbean Sea, with no details provided at the time.