Officials, preferring to remain unnamed, have not disclosed the precise whereabouts of the operation nor identified the vessel under pursuit. However, British maritime risk management firm Vanguard, in conjunction with a U.S. maritime security source, has pinpointed the ship as the Bella 1. This crude oil carrier is listed under the U.S. Treasury Department’s sanctions.

In 2021, the Bella 1 facilitated the transport of Venezuelan oil to China, as indicated by internal records from the state-owned company PDVSA. The ship has also been previously involved in transporting Iranian crude, according to data from a vessel monitoring service.

Alongside the report, a nearly eight-minute video has been circulated, featuring aerial footage of a helicopter closely hovering above the deck of a substantial tanker navigating the sea.

For more, listen to the latest on Venezuela’s response, labeling the oil tanker seizure as an act of international piracy.

An Agence France-Presse review found that Centuries does not appear on the US treasury department’s list of sanctioned companies and individuals.

Could the tanker seizures impact oil prices?

“There’s just a couple of them, and they were black market ships.”