Venezuela's Oil Exports Plummet After U.S. Seizes Tanker Off Its Coast, Report Claims

Venezuela's oil exports have plummeted after the U.S. seized a tanker off the country's coast, according to a new report.

The Guardian supported the claim based on shipping data, documents and maritime sources.

It added that the seizure of the Skipper was the first time the U.S. conducted such an operation since imposing sanctions on the country in 2019.

Since the seizure, the outlet claimed, only tankers chartered by U.S. oil company Chevron have sailed through the region carrying Venezuelan crude.

Other tankers, which have loaded about 11 million barrels of oil and fuel are stuck in Venezuelan waters.

The Trump administration is set to continue seizing tankers and has assembled a list of targets to carry out the policy, according to another report.

Reuters noted that the Justice Department and the Department of the Homeland Security had been planning seizures for months. It added that the tankers targeted are the so-called shadow fleet that mostly take oil to China.

Future seizures depend on how quickly ports can take the ships, one source told Reuters. Many tankers are old and they sail without top-tier insurance coverage, which could make ports reluctant to receive them.

The Maduro regime has accused the U.S. of committing an act of "international piracy" after the first seizure. In a statement released by the Foreign Ministry, Caracas condemned what it called "a blatant robbery" following President Donald Trump's announcement earlier in the day that U.S. personnel had intercepted a "very large" tanker off Venezuela.

Moreover, the regime accused the U.S. of conducting a cyber attack against its state-run oil company, PDVSA, on Monday.

PDVSA said the alleged attack was "orchestrated by foreign interests in complicity with stateless factors looking to interfere with the country's right to sovereign energetic development."

"It's not the first time the U.S. government, allied with extremist sectors, try to affect national stability and steal Christmas from the Venezuelan people," the company added.

However, it claimed, due to its "human talent," the company's "operational areas did not suffer any impact, reducing the attack to one against its administrative system."

"The industry's operational continuity remains as a result of safety protocols allowing regular activities," PDVSA added.