EXCLUSIVE: US seizes vessel off Venezuelan coast, officials say

[muriel_volestrangler]

16. Oil was destined for China, "Centuries" is Panama-flagged, and not on a list of vessels that the US has sanctioned

The British maritime risk management company Vanguard told Reuters that the vessel was believed to be the Panama-flagged Centuries and was intercepted east of Barbados in the Caribbean Sea.

The vessel does not appear to be on the list of US-sanctioned vessels, according to multiple reports, which would represent an escalation in American enforcement of its blockade.
...
“The United States will continue to pursue the illicit movement of sanctioned oil that is used to fund narco-terrorism in the region,” Noem said. “We will find you, and we will stop you.”
...
The crude was bought by Satau Tijana Oil Trading, one of many intermediaries involved in PDVSA’s sales to Chinese independent refiners, the documents showed.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/20/us-second-merchant-vessel-venezuela

So, unlike the first ship, which had been listed as trading with Iran, and was apparently sailing under the flag of Guyana without permission, and for which the normal transponder seemed dodgy, this looks like a straightforward ship doing international trading. The "used to fund narco-terrorism" is bullshit; it's a normal part of the Venezuelan economy. "East of Barbados" means it was well away from Venezuela too - I'd call it the Atlantic, rather than the Caribbean. "Satau Tijana Oil Trading" is a Dubai company.