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Chinese oil tankers challenge United States blockade near Venezuela
Two Chinese flagged supertankers are continuing operations close to Venezuelan waters despite a blockade announced in mid December by President Donald Trump and an expanding campaign of tanker seizures, according to maritime tracking data. The situation is shaping into a key test of United States enforcement power as tensions between Beijing and Washington deepen over Venezuela’s oil trade.
The very large crude carrier Thousand Sunny, which has transported Venezuelan crude to China for the past five years, is expected to approach Venezuela’s José terminal in mid January. Tracking data show no change in speed or course since Trump declared a total and complete blockade on December 16, according to Lloyd’s List. A second Chinese flagged VLCC, Xing Ye, is already positioned off the coast of French Guiana, waiting to load crude after last lifting Venezuelan oil in August.
Neither vessel is under United States sanctions, and both sail under the Chinese flag, creating a potential geopolitical flashpoint if Washington attempts to impose an interdiction. The tankers were previously owned by China National Petroleum Corporation and were sold to unidentified buyers in 2020 to facilitate oil flows between Venezuela and China under a debt repayment arrangement.
At the same time, Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA has begun shutting wells in the Orinoco Belt after storage capacity reached its limit on December 28, according to sources cited by Bloomberg. The company aims to cut Orinoco Belt output by at least 25 percent to around 500,000 barrels per day, a reduction equivalent to about 15 percent of Venezuela’s total production of 1.1 million barrels per day.
The move highlights mounting pressure on the government of President Nicolás Maduro, which relies heavily on oil revenue as the backbone of the Venezuelan economy. Well closures are widely viewed as a last resort because of high operating costs and the technical challenges involved in restarting production.
Meanwhile, Venezuelan gunboats have begun escorting tankers leaving eastern ports, although their coverage appears limited to territorial waters, according to The New York Times. Several vessels carrying petroleum products departed for Asian markets between December 16 and 17 under naval protection.
International tensions escalated further during an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council on December 23, when China’s deputy permanent representative Sun Lei condemned United States actions as violations of international law. He said Venezuela, as a sovereign state, has the right to pursue mutually beneficial cooperation with other countries and added that China opposes all forms of unilateralism and intimidation.
Russia’s representative to the United Nations, Vassily Nebenzia, described the United States blockade as an act of aggression and warned of broader consequences for international relations.
The confrontation intensified last week with a reported CIA drone strike on a Venezuelan port facility, described by sources cited by CNN as the first confirmed United States military action on Venezuelan territory. Separately, the sanctioned tanker Bella 1 evaded the United States Coast Guard for nine days after its crew painted a Russian flag on the hull and claimed Russian protection, according to United States officials quoted by The New York Times.
Despite the escalating standoff, United States oil major Chevron continues to export Venezuelan crude to Gulf Coast refineries under a special license from the Treasury Department, producing about 240,000 barrels per day.
