The tankers captured by the United States under the Russian flag were sold for scrap

The United States has sold for scrap two tankers that were seized during the Venezuelan operation last winter. At that time, the vessels sailed under the Russian flag and belonged to a Russian company.

"The US government has sold the confiscated Era (formerly Marinera) and Lileo (Galileo) tankers to GMS, a recycling company, and both vessels are now heading to the Indian Alang for disassembly," Lloyd's List reports.

The U.S. Coast Guard seized both tankers last winter. During the chase, which was coming from Venezuela, the ships changed the flag to the Russian one, but this did not help to avoid capture. According to Equasis, at that time the tankers were registered with the Russian Burevestmarin, which issued the rights to the vessels in December 2025. This year the courts turned 23 and 24 years old.

"Despite court approval and exemptions granted by the US Treasury Department, banks, insurance companies and service providers were reluctant to make contact, which underscores the difficulties of disposing of vessels under sanctions, even after confiscation," the specialized edition writes.

The buyer was Global Marketing Systems, a ship recycling company with headquarters in Dubai.

"The U.S. government sold them to us and there was a court order authorizing the sale, but there are complications, not least the fact that we were not sure who their previous owner was," GMS CEO Anil Sharma told Lloyd's List.

Both vessels were under US sanctions and Washington accused their owners of transporting oil from Iran and Venezuela.