US hands seized tanker Sophia back to Venezuela

The United States is returning the Panama-flagged supertanker Sophia to Venezuelan authorities, gCaptain reports, weeks after the Coast Guard and military seized it on 7 January as what officials called a stateless, sanctioned dark fleet tanker. Officials gave no reason for the handover, and neither the Coast Guard nor Venezuela's communications ministry commented immediately. The outlet counts seven US seizures of Venezuela-linked tankers since late 2025.

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