US lifts sanctions on oil company, tanker linked to Venezuela

ISTANBUL

The US Treasury Department has removed sanctions Thursday on a Marshall Islands-registered oil company and a Panama-flagged crude oil tanker previously blacklisted as part of Washington's pressure campaign against Venezuela.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said Arctic Voyager Incorporated and its associated vessel, the KIARA M, were removed from its Specially Designated Nationals list without an explanation for the decision.

The two had been sanctioned in late 2025 under an executive order targeting Venezuela's oil sector. At the time, the OFAC said the Arctic Voyager-owned KIARA M, loaded Venezuelan oil in September and October, and was heading to Asia to offload its cargo.

The sanctions had been part of a broader US pressure campaign against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was captured in a US military operation in early January.