U.S. military seizes two VLCCs, including a Russian-flagged vessel　米軍、ロシア船籍含むVLCC2隻を拿捕

AIS switched off; ships sanctioned over Venezuelan oil exports

AISオフ、ベネズエラ石油の輸出関連で制裁対象

On January 7, the U.S. military successively seized two VLCCs (very large crude carriers of around 300,000 deadweight tonnes) in the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which were alleged to have been involved in the export of Venezuelan crude oil.

Key points of this article

→ The vessel detained in the North Atlantic was a VLCC that had been renamed Marinera from its former name Bella 1, and which switched to the Russian flag while under tracking. The former vessel Bella 1 had a documented history of changing flags among several countries, including Guyana, and was presenting itself as Russian-flagged immediately prior to the seizure.

→ In the Caribbean Sea, meanwhile, the U.S. Southern Command seized the VLCC M/T Sophia, which was formally registered under the Panamanian flag, after designating it as a “stateless” vessel. M/T Sophia has IMO number 9289477. Built in 2004, the vessel measures 333 metres in length, 60 metres in beam, and has a deadweight of approximately 320,000 tonnes. It is a VLCC constructed by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME, now Hanwha Ocean) of South Korea.

PHOTO by U.S. military organization, MarineTraffic

(For the full article, please read the main text provided in both English and Japanese. The Japanese article is published following the English version.)

米軍、ロシア船籍含むVLCC2隻を拿捕

AISオフ、ベネズエラ石油の輸出関連で制裁対象

　米軍は1月7日、大西洋とカリブ海で、ベネズエラ産原油の輸出に関与したとされるVLCC（超大型原油タンカー、30万重量トン級）2隻を相次いで拿捕した。

この記事のポイント

→北大西洋で拘束されたのは、旧船名「Bella 1」から「Marinera」に改名したVLCCで、追跡下でロシア船籍へ切り替えた。旧船名「Bella 1」の船籍は過去にガイアナなど複数国を転々とした履歴が確認されており、拿捕直前にはロシア船籍を名乗っていた。

→一方、カリブ海では、登録上はパナマ船籍とされるVLCC「M/T Sophia」を、米南方軍が「無国籍船（stateless）」と認定して拿捕した。「M/T Sophia」のIMO番号は9289477。2004年竣工で、全長333メートル、幅60メートル、載貨重量約32万トン。韓国・大宇造船海洋（DSME、現ハンファオーシャン）建造のVLCCである。

PHOTO by U.S. military organization

（続きは英語と日本語で書かれた本文でお読みください。日本語の記事は英文記事に続いて掲載されています）