Trump administration seizing Venezuelan oil tankers is about China, not Venezuela

The Trump administration just grabbed another Venezuelan oil tanker, and this time, it’s about China, not Venezuela.

On Saturday, the U.S. seized the Panama-flagged Centuries while it was hauling sanctioned crude from Venezuela, a decision that Beijing immediately condemned.

This action leans on a 2002 deal (Salas-Becker agreement) that lets U.S. authorities board Panama-flagged vessels with only two hours’ notice. Dimitris Ampatzidis, a senior compliance analyst at Kpler, said, “The most interesting part of the Centuries seizure is the suggestion of the U.S. likely relying on its prior boarding agreement with the Panama Maritime Authority.”

U.S. targeting tankers that serve Chinese refineries

Right now, 23 tankers are floating inside Venezuela’s exclusive economic zone. Of those, Ragnar, Balsa, and Larko carry the Panama flag and are loaded with oil.

Ampatzidis said, “If the Ragnar, Balsa, and Larko attempt to depart, it places them in the higher-risk enforcement category because they are operating under the Panama flag. We can see seizures as we saw with the Centuries.” Ragnar got filled on December 16, and the others followed one day later.

The U.S. isn’t just going after already-sanctioned ships. Even stateless vessels or others tied to the shadow fleet are in the crosshairs. Ampatzidis said the U.S. is “increasingly willing” to grab any ship that tries to leave Venezuela with crude.

Why go this far? Aaron Roth, a former Coast Guard captain who now advises at the Chertoff Group, said, “By squeezing Venezuelan oil, you are not only putting tremendous pressure on the Maduro regime, but you are also impacting China strategically.”

Roth added that without discounted Venezuelan crude, China will have to turn to Russia or the Middle East, where oil is more expensive. He said, “The longer it goes on and it may create negotiating space in U.S.-China diplomacy.”

China currently takes 76% of Venezuela’s oil, while the U.S. has reduced its share to 17%, down from about 34% last year. Venezuela has pumped 900,000 barrels so far in 2025, roughly 1% of global supply. The rest of that oil goes to Cuba, Spain, and Italy. But the tankers with the most direct connection to China are the ones being stopped.

Seized tankers show pattern of travel to Chinese ports

Kpler tracking data shows Centuries has done this before. In April 2020, it loaded two million barrels of Venezuelan Merey crude that ended up at Yantai in Shandong Province.

This time, before being seized, the tanker was using spoofed AIS signals to hide its location. It pretended to be sailing near Curaçao on December 12, but satellite images showed it was parked near Lechería, Venezuela.

The loading happened at the Jose Oil Terminal on December 9. By December 18, it was seen three miles off Grenada, heading west, likely to China… again.

Kpler images also showed that Centuries used a different name “Crag” while loading. Around that same time, another ship was filled with two million barrels of Merey crude at the same berth. After that, Centuries just stayed east of the port until it finally started moving.

Another tanker, Bella 1, was also taken. It wasn’t even loaded, it was heading back to Venezuela. But earlier in the year, it moved Iranian oil to Qingdao in March, and in 2023 it carried Venezuelan crude to Tianjin and Qingdao. These are not new routes. They’re pipelines to Chinese ports. And both ships were part of Trump’s weekend sweep.

While Trump grabs ships, he’s also clashing with China and Panama over control of the Panama Canal.Trump has said he wants the U.S. to take it back, claiming China now controls the waterway.

The ports on both ends, Balboa and Cristóbal, are run by CK Hutchison, based in Hong Kong. Trump’s people say China has too much control there and that it violates the U.S.-Panama treaty.

A $22.8 billion deal to sell the ports to a consortium led by BlackRock and Mediterranean Shipping stalled because Beijing opposed it. China wants Cosco, a state-owned ocean carrier, to get a controlling stake.

Brandon Daniels, CEO at Exiger, said if Cosco joins the deal, China gains a chokepoint in global shipping. He also confirmed the U.S. and Panama have deals like Salas-Becker to fast-track vessel boardings. “It would most likely point to cooperation,” Daniels said. He also said Panama President José Raúl Mulino “takes their sovereignty very seriously.”

Daniels said the CCP already has influence over Hong Kong companies like CK Hutchison, but Cosco’s control would deepen that grip.

“China may gain a chokepoint in global trade container transshipment capacity, berthing priority, yard operations, and commercial data exhaust,” he said. Still, he believes Panama will cooperate with Washington to protect its own financial backing.

“Panama is very focused on being a South Asian corridor and a major flag state for vessels, but it seeks cooperation with the U.S as a strategic imperative to sustainable funding,” Daniels said.

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