As many as 16 tankers are believed to have left Venezuela in defiance of the US-imposed blockade since the start of 2026, according to vessel tracking website TankerTrackers.com (TT).
Cook Islands-flagged very large crude carrier (VLCC) Bertha, Panama-flagged VLCC Veronica III and Panama-flagged Suezmax Aquila II were seen departing Venezuela on 3 January, laden with crude and fuel oil, per visual confirmation by TT.
The vessels departed the country in defiance of a US-imposed quarantine that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday said remains in place.
"There's a quarantine right now which sanctions oil shipments," Rubio said in a televised interview. "Say there's a boat and that boat is under US sanctions. We go get a court order. We will seize it. That remains in place."
The remaining 12 tankers are currently unaccounted for, but most of them are believed to have joined the flotilla with the other four vessels, co-founder of TT Samir Madani told Argus.
The 16 vessels include five VLCCs, two Suezmaxes, eight Aframaxes and a handysize vessel, with 13 of the 16 vessels at least partially laden with cargo, according to TT.
Kpler and Vortexa have no recent data for the vessels, which have not transmitted their locations for at least two weeks.
