Russian Tanker Tries to Run Away As U.S. Navy Destroyer Blocks Path to Venezuela

Article Summary – A sanctioned Russian tanker, Seahorse, has repeatedly tried and failed to deliver critical fuel products to Venezuela after a U.S. Navy destroyer maneuvered to block its approach.

-Tracking data show the Seahorse turning away multiple times when confronted by USS Stockdale and another U.S. warship, leaving the ship drifting in Caribbean waters instead of offloading naphtha vital to processing Venezuela’s extra-heavy crude.

ATLANTIC OCEAN (Sept. 06, 2008) – The guided-missile destroyer USS Roosevelt (DDG 80) steams through the Atlantic Ocean. Roosevelt is deployed as part of the Iwo Jima Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) in support of maritime security operations in the Navy’s 5th and 6th fleet areas of responsibility. The Iwo Jima ESG is made up of Roosevelt, homeported at Mayport, Fla.; the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7); the amphibious dock landing ship USS San Antonio (LPD 17); the amphibious transport dock ship USS Carter Hall (LSD 50); the guided-missile cruiser USS Vella Gulf (CG 72); the guided-missile destroyer USS Ramage (DDG 61); all homeported at Norfolk, Va.; and the fast attack submarine USS Hartford (SSN 768), homeported at Groton, Conn. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jason R. Zalasky (Released)

-The quiet showdown underscores how Washington is now using naval power to enforce sanctions against Russia’s shadow fleet and Nicolás Maduro’s regime, even as Moscow deepens military ties with Caracas to challenge U.S. influence in the hemisphere.

US Navy Destroyer Repeatedly Blocks Russian Tanker from Reaching Venezuela

On November 21, Bloomberg reported that a sanctioned Russian oil tanker attempting to deliver fuel to Venezuela had been forced to turn back on multiple occasions.

A US Navy destroyer positioned itself to block the Russian ship from continuing on its originally intended course.

Details on the ship’s movements have come from tracking data collected by the US news service.

This stand-off is additional confirmation that Washington is now actively seeking measures to sabotage Russian attempts to support the energy industry that is so critical to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s authoritarian regime.

The tanker in question is the Seahorse, part of Russia’s constantly metastasizing “shadow fleet” of tankers.

These ships continue to illegally transport Russian and Venezuelan crude and other energy products in violation of current US, EU, and other international sanctions.

The ship was first detected steaming towards the Venezuelan coast on November 13, the first date it was interdicted by the USS Stockdale.

After encountering and being blocked by the US destroyer, the Russian tanker altered course toward Cuba, whereupon the American destroyer continued toward Puerto Rico and away from Venezuelan territorial waters.

(May 6, 2017)
Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Dewey (DDG 105) transits the South China Sea. Dewey is part of the Sterett-Dewey Surface Action Group and is the third deploying group operating under the command and control construct called 3rd Fleet Forward. The U.S. 3rd Fleet operating forward offers additional options to the Pacific Fleet commander by leveraging the capabilities of 3rd and 7th Fleets. (U.S. Navy Photo By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Kryzentia Weiermann/ Released)

If At First You Don’t Succeed

But in the category of “if at first you don’t succeed,” the Seahorse attempted again on two separate occasions to enter Venezuelan waters.

Again, according to available tracking data, the tanker turned around whenever the US naval vessel USS Warship steamed into its path.

At present, the tanker remains almost motionless – drifting and nearly stationary in Caribbean international waters.

It has made no further movement towards any port – either in Venezuela, Cuba, or elsewhere.

The ship continuing to “hover” in place is not typical for shadow fleet ships, as they are loath to remain stationary for extended periods or to make complete course reversals when operating on shipping routes between Cuba and Venezuela.

USS John Finn (DDG 113) arrives Nov. 15 at the Port of Hueneme for routine Combat System Assessment Team (CSAT) repairs and training. The ship is one of four in the fleet with an Optical Dazzling Interdictor, Navy — also known as ODIN. The ODIN laser weapon system stuns enemy drones threatening surface ships. The destroyer also has two helicopter hangars, big enough to hold an MH-60R Seahawk Romeo multi-mission helicopter and the MH-60S Knighthawk Sierra helicopter. (U.S. Navy Photo by Dana Rene White/Released)

The US Southern Command based in Miami has deferred any comment on the USS Stockdale’s current mission.

The destroyer has been operating on station in the Caribbean since late September. Its position and carrying out what appears to be a blockade of Venezuela is one of the elements of US President Donald Trump’s expanded anti-narcotics mission.

This flotilla of US Navy ships has been involved in carrying out multiple strikes on vessels assessed to be carrying shipments of illegal narcotics.

The strike group includes the Navy’s most modern and largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, as well as several other naval vessels.

Critical Ingredient

The Seahorse has been under sanctions by the United Kingdom and the European Union, but has continued to try to evade any blockades on its movements due to the importance of illegal oil exports by Russia and its allies to Moscow and Caracas.

This ship has a special mission supporting these exports, as it is one of only four Russian tankers to have supplied naphtha and other fuel products to both Venezuela and Cuba.

Oil industry sites describe Naphtha as performing several roles. “One of its primary uses is as a feedstock in petrochemical plants, where it’s converted into ethylene, propylene, and other chemicals that are needed in the production of plastics, resins, and synthetic fibers.”

Venezuela has some of the largest oil reserves in the world, but it has its drawbacks. It comes out of the ground with more difficulty than other grades of crude. It is also a very thick and sulphurous oil.

Naphtha is needed to dilute Venezuelan oil so it can be transported via pipeline. Due to its viscosity, this crude also requires this chemical, resulting in a more laborious-than-normal refining process.

Moscow has been increasing its military aid to Venezuela as of late in response to the growing US military presence in the Caribbean.

As a recent Atlantic Council article points out, Venezuela is far from Moscow’s sphere of influence, but “in return for arms and money, Russia gains a significant foothold in South America, helping to fulfill [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s ambitions of making Russia a great power and challenging the United States in its own hemisphere.”

About the Author: Reuben F. Johnson 

Reuben F. Johnson has thirty-six years of experience analyzing and reporting on foreign weapons systems, defense technologies, and international arms export policy. Johnson is the Director of the Asia Research Centre at the Casimir Pulaski Foundation. He is also a survivor of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. He worked for years in the American defense industry as a foreign technology analyst and later as a consultant for the U.S. Department of Defense, the Departments of the Navy and Air Force, and the governments of the United Kingdom and Australia. In 2022-2023, he won two awards in a row for his defense reporting. He holds a bachelor’s degree from DePauw University and a master’s degree from Miami University in Ohio, specializing in Soviet and Russian studies. He lives in Warsaw.