According to the buyer, the US government has sold an oil tanker linked to Venezuela. The tanker was seized by the US Coast Guard in January of this year after experiencing a thrilling chase in the Atlantic Ocean. As a result, the Shadow Fleet ship was given permission to be dismantled and scrapped. The tanker, called “Bella 1,” escaped the US blockade in the Caribbean at the end of last year, and was hunted down by the authorities for several weeks for frequently changing the ship's name and spraying the Russian flag on the hull to seek refuge. Eventually, the ship was impounded near Iceland. Yogesh Rehani, director of operations at Buyer Global Marketing Systems, said that the tanker — now known as the “Era” — was approved for dismantling late last week, while another Aphra tanker “Lileo,” which was blacklisted and seized. Earlier, the US Treasury Department had issued dismantling permits for these two tankers. According to the maritime database Equasis, the US subsidiary of GMS is currently the owner of these two tankers.

According to the buyer, the US government has sold an oil tanker linked to Venezuela. The tanker was seized by the US Coast Guard in January of this year after experiencing a thrilling chase in the Atlantic Ocean. As a result, the Shadow Fleet ship was given permission to be dismantled and scrapped. The tanker, called “Bella 1,” escaped the US blockade in the Caribbean at the end of last year, and was hunted down by the authorities for several weeks for frequently changing the ship's name and spraying the Russian flag on the hull to seek refuge. Eventually, the ship was impounded near Iceland. Yogesh Rehani, director of operations at Buyer Global Marketing Systems, said that the tanker — now known as the “Era” — was approved for dismantling late last week, while another Aphra tanker “Lileo,” which was blacklisted and seized. Earlier, the US Treasury Department had issued dismantling permits for these two tankers. According to the maritime database Equasis, the US subsidiary of GMS is currently the owner of these two tankers.