[Regnum] The United States has sold two Russian-flagged oil tankers seized after a raid in Venezuela for scrap metal. This was reported on August 11 by the British news agency Reuters, citing a source in the buying company.
According to the agency, the tankers in question are the Era (Marinera) and Lileo (Galileo), seized by the United States in January. The US government sold these vessels to Global Marketing Systems (GMS), a Dubai-based company. The transaction amount was not disclosed.
According to GMS Director Anil Sharma, the sale was completed based on a court order. However, complications arose during the transaction due to uncertainty regarding the ships' previous owners.
The tankers are currently heading to a shipyard in Alang, India, for further dismantling.
The tanker Marinera was detained on January 7 off the coast of Iceland and was subsequently transferred to the Moray Firth in northern Scotland. The vessel's captain, Avtandil Kalandadze, and his first officer were under the supervision of the U.S. Coast Guard.
US authorities have stated their intention to prosecute the tanker's crew. According to White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt, the vessel was allegedly part of Venezuela's so-called shadow fleet and was illegally transporting oil under false flags, circumventing US sanctions. US Vice President J.D. Vance also claimed that the tanker was posing as Russian to evade sanctions.