U.S. Sold Two Confiscated Tankers That Sailed Under the Russian Flag for Scrap

The U.S. government has sold two sanctioned oil tankers, the ERA and the LILEO, for scrap. The vessels had previously been seized by the U.S. military during naval operations aimed at blocking the export of sanctioned oil.

This was reported by Lloyd’s List.

The buyer was Global Marketing Systems (GMS), a ship recycling company headquartered in Dubai, which finalized the deal based on a corresponding U.S. court ruling. Both tankers will be sent to shipbreaking yards in India.

GMS management reported legal complications during the transaction due to the vessels’ convoluted ownership structure, as it is difficult to identify the exact ultimate owners because of the use of shell companies and frequent changes of flag.

The ERA tanker is an Aframax-class vessel built in the early 2000s that has long operated in international waters under various names, including MARINERA and BELLA 1. The vessel was part of the so-called “shadow fleet,” which facilitated oil exports in circumvention of international restrictions.

According to U.S. reports, the tanker was used to illegally transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran. The vessel systematically turned off its Automatic Identification System (AIS) transponders and conducted ship-to-ship oil transfers on the high seas to conceal the cargo’s origin.

The operation to seize the ERA tanker took place in January following a prolonged pursuit across the Atlantic Ocean.

Initially, the vessel flying the Russian flag managed to break through the U.S. naval blockade in the Caribbean, but the U.S. Coast Guard, in conjunction with special operations units, tracked down the tanker and took it into custody in waters south of Iceland.

The second confiscated tanker, the LILEO, which had previously operated under the names GALILEO and VERONICA, also belonged to the sanctioned fleet and sailed under the Russian flag.

This vessel specialized in transporting petroleum products and was subject to direct sanctions by the U.S. Department of the Treasury for violating restrictions on energy exports and cooperating with Russian entities subject to sanctions.

The U.S. military seized the tanker LILEO in January in the Caribbean Sea as the vessel was attempting to facilitate the logistics of Venezuelan crude oil.

In total, as part of maritime raids and efforts to combat illicit trade around Venezuela, the United States has confiscated up to ten oil tankers involved in smuggling.