On August 11, 2026, according to the Lloyd’s List, the United States government has authorized the sale of two previously sanctioned oil tankers to the Dubai-based ship recycling company Global Marketing Systems (GMS) for scrap dismantling. The two oil tankers are expected to be sent to a ship-breaking yard in Alang, India.
GMS acquired these two oil tankers last month at an undisclosed price. One of the tankers, previously known as “Era,” had operated under the names “Marinera” and “Bella 1,” while the other, named “Lileo,” had used the titles “Galileo” and “Veronica.”
Anil Sharma, the CEO of GMS, informed Lloyd’s List that the transaction was completed under court authorization. Due to the complexities involving sanctions and ownership issues, the company initially had difficulty confirming the previous owners of the two vessels.
The sale case reportedly involves Venezuelan oil exports, Russian related ownership networks, and legal and commercial challenges faced by the United States in dealing with sanctioned vessels.
According to Reuters, on January 7 of this year, the US Coast Guard and military special forces seized the Russian-flagged “Era” in waters south of Iceland, concluding a two-week transatlantic pursuit operation. The vessel had evaded US blockade efforts in the Caribbean aimed at preventing Venezuelan oil exports.
The US authorities stated that the “Era” had been used for transporting sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran. In the same month, the US also impounded the “Lileo” in the Caribbean, as it had been previously included in the sanctions list against Russia.
Additionally, Reuters reported that since December last year, when the US started intercepting oil tankers involved in Venezuelan oil trade, they have seized up to ten oil tankers.
(This article is based on reports from Reuters)