US profits from seized Venezuelan oil tankers, sends them for scrap in India: Report

The US government has quietly sold two oil tankers seized following its military aggression against Venezuela to Dubai-based vessel recycler Global Marketing Systems (GMS), with the vessels set to be dismantled in India.

The two tankers, the Era and Lileo, were purchased by GMS last month for an undisclosed sum, Lloyd’s List reported on Monday.

Both vessels had been seized by US authorities in January 2026 amid Washington’s military campaign against Venezuelan oil shipments.

The Era, formerly known as Marinera and Bella 1, and the Lileo, previously named Galileo and Veronica, are now due to be scrapped at shipbreaking yards in India.

“The US government has sold them to us and there was a court order authorizing the sales, but there are complexities, not least the fact that we weren’t really sure who previously owned them,” GMS CEO Anil Sharma told Lloyd’s List.

The sale comes amid a broader series of US military operations to intercept and seize oil tankers linked to Venezuelan oil shipments, actions that Caracas and other governments have condemned as acts of maritime piracy.

Venezuela formally complained to the UN Security Council following the seizure of a tanker in December 2025, noting that US forces boarded the vessel on the high seas, subduing and detaining its crew, and seizing a shipment of Venezuelan oil.

Iran has also condemned the US actions. Its embassy in Caracas described the seizure of a Venezuelan oil tanker as “piracy in the Caribbean Sea” and said the action violated international law, including the principles governing freedom of the seas and navigation.

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US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, who faces mounting scrutiny from legal experts over potential war crimes during Washington’s military campaign in Latin America, oversaw the seizure of one of the oil tankers.

The Era was seized in January 2026 after US Coast Guard and military personnel intercepted the Russian-flagged tanker in waters south of Iceland, following a weeks-long pursuit across the Atlantic. The vessel had previously evaded a US maritime blockade in the Caribbean aimed at restricting Venezuelan oil exports.

The Lileo was also seized in January, this time in the Caribbean Sea, as part of Washington’s broader campaign to intercept Venezuelan oil shipments following its military intervention in Venezuela.

US authorities seized as many as 10 oil tankers in the aftermath of the operation, according to reports.

The subsequent sale of the Era and Lileo for scrap means the vessels will not return to commercial service and will instead be dismantled at shipbreaking yards in India.

A Financial Times investigation published in July estimated that Washington has collected more than $13 billion from Venezuelan oil exports since taking control of the country’s oil sales in January, following the abduction of President Nicolas Maduro Moros.

The investigation found that only one transfer, worth $300 million, has been publicly recorded on a Venezuelan government website established to monitor oil revenues controlled by the United States.

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