Can the U.S. Seize Russian Flagged Oil Tankers?

About this episode

The episode discusses the U.S. actions regarding the seizure of Russian-flagged oil tankers amidst ongoing sanctions and military operations related to Venezuelan oil.

Prior to the U.S. attacks that dislodged president Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela, American forces have for weeks been blockading U.S.-sanctioned ships carrying Venezuelan oil. In mid-December, the United States began boarding, and seizing, tankers in the so‑called “shadow fleet” that move sanctioned oil across the globe, starting with stateless vessels. In a dramatic turn, this week the U.S. Coast Guard, with U.S. and allied military support, intercepted and boarded two Russian-flagged oil tank...

Topics covered

• U.S. military actions
• sanctions
• oil tankers
• international law
• Venezuela
• Russia

Keywords

• U.S. Coast Guard
• Russian-flagged oil tankers
• Nicolas Maduro
• Venezuela
• sanctions
• shadow fleet
• military support

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: U.S., U.S. Coast Guard, shadow fleet

Places: Venezuelan, Russia, Venezuela

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