Around four in every ten oil tankers operating in Venezuela operate illegally. The finding is from the NGO Transparencia Venezuela. The entity monitored 98 vessels in November 2025 that work to transport Venezuelan oil. The survey reveals a continuous pattern of irregularities in the country’s hydrocarbon ports.
Of the total observed, 64 ships belonged to international shipowners. Another 17 were part of the fleet of the state-owned Venezuelan Petroleum Company (Pdvsa). A further 17 sailed with their AIS tracking systems turned off, a practice used to conceal routes and cargo. According to the NGO, 40 vessels, or 41% of traffic, are sanctioned, stealthy or linked to obscure fleets. The data highlights the dimension of clandestine operations.
The report links this scenario to the increase in tensions between the United States and the government of Nicolás Maduro. It also points to the intensification of military operations in the Caribbean. These factors would have reduced the regular presence of oil tankers on the Venezuelan coast. For Transparencia Venezuela, the remaining vessels adopt deliberate strategies to circumvent sanctions and inspection.
Despite the drop in the total number of ships, a movement was different. Tankers commissioned by Chevron have increased. In November, eight ships linked to the company arrived in Venezuela. In October, there were only three. All headed to ports in the United States, such as Corpus Christi and Beaumont, in Texas, and Good Hope, in Louisiana. They were transporting Venezuelan oil, according to tracking data.
Sanctioned oil tanker exposes flaws in tracking Venezuelan oil
The NGO also draws attention to the oil tanker Seahorse. The vessel is sanctioned by the European Union and the United Kingdom. The reason is the transportation of Russian oil during the war in Ukraine. The ship attempted to approach Venezuela after leaving Matanzas, Cuba, on November 13. However, it did not dock at the José terminal or at another eastern port, says the entity. The case exposes the difficulty of tracking the final destination of oil.
Another fact is worrying. Only a third of the monitored oil tankers presented a destination manifest. This raises doubts about where the majority of Venezuelan oil exports go.
Upon completing the report, the NGO issues a direct warning. The number of ships fell from October to November. The opacity, however, increased. For Transparencia Venezuela, the data confirms the consolidation of a “ghost fleet”, now central to the flow of the country’s oil and the evasion of international sanctions.
