The large tanker seized by the U.S. off the coast of Venezuela earlier this week is already on its way to Houston, according to a new report.
Citing satellite images analyzed by TankerTrackers.com, Reuters detailed that the ship is carrying some 1.85 barrels of Venezuelan crude.
The ship, however, is too large to enter the Houston port, so it will have to anchor nearby and offload the cargo onto smaller ships.
Venezuela's authoritarian President Nicolás Maduro accused the United States of "kidnapping" the crew of the seized tanker, a move that has further escalated tensions between the countries.
U.S. officials said the tanker was seized by the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Coast Guard. According to satellite data, the ship attempted to mask its location by transmitting false coordinates.
Maduro, who did not initially comment on the operation, addressed it on Thursday during a public event, calling the seizure "a criminal and illegal act." He described it as a "military assault, kidnapping and robbery, like Caribbean pirates, against a private commercial vessel." He said the ship was intercepted "far north of Trinidad and Tobago, near the Grenadines, heading into the Atlantic," not in Venezuelan waters.
Maduro claimed the whereabouts of the crew were unknown. "The crew of that ship ... are kidnapped, they are disappeared, nobody knows where they are," he said. He accused Washington of stealing Venezuelan resources, alleging the operation was carried out "to steal Venezuela's oil, asphalt and gas."
He added that he had ordered Venezuelan institutions to pursue legal and diplomatic action and to take measures to "protect all vessels" transporting the country's crude.
President Donald Trump confirmed the seizure Wednesday and later said the U.S. intends to take control of the oil aboard the tanker, pending legal procedures.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday the president does not view the action as a step toward broader conflict. "Prolonged war is definitely not something this president is interested in," she said. "He wants peace. He also wants to see the end of illegal drugs being trafficked into the United States."
Originally published on Latin Times
