The tanker was flying the false flag of East Timor and was involved in the transportation of oil from Venezuela

The United States has launched an operation to detain the Olina tanker in the Caribbean. This was reported by the agency Reuters citing an unnamed American official with knowledge of the matter.

According to him, the United States is conducting an operation to seize the tanker Olina in the Caribbean Sea near the island of Trinidad.

The media reports that this is the fifth such ship interception operation in recent weeks as part of Washington's efforts to control Venezuelan oil exports.

A shipping source familiar with the matter said that the tanker Olina, which, according to the public shipping database Equasis, was flying the false flag of East Timor, had previously sailed from Venezuela and returned to the region.

In January last year, the US imposed sanctions on the tanker, then called Minerva M, because, according to Washington, it was part of the so-called "shadow fleet" of vessels that sail virtually unregulated and uninsured.