US sells for scrap two sanctioned oil tankers seized after Venezuela raid

The US government has sold for scrap two sanctioned oil tankers that were seized in the days after Washington's raid on Venezuela, Lloyd's List reported on Monday.

Dubai-headquartered vessel recycling firm Global Marketing Systems purchased the tankers last month for an undisclosed sum, according to the report.

The sale included the Era, previously operating as Marinera and Bella 1, and the Lileo, previously sailing as Galileo and Veronica, the report said. The tankers will be demolished in scrap yards in India.

"The US government has sold them to us and there was a court order authorising the sales, but there are complexities, not least the fact that we weren't really sure who previously owned them," GMS CEO Anil Sharma told Lloyd's List.

GMS did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

US Coast Guard and military special forces seized the Russian-flagged Era in January in waters south of Iceland, ending a weeks-long pursuit across the Atlantic. The vessel had previously slipped through a US blockade in the Caribbean aimed at stopping oil exports from Venezuela.

Washington said then that the Era had been used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran.

The US also seized the Russian-flagged vessel now known as Lileo in the Caribbean Sea in January. That tanker was subject to US sanctions against Russia.

The US seized as many as 10 oil tankers after its military action in Venezuela. Sanctioned vessels frequently change names to evade detection.