Venezuela Oil Blockade Dodged by Sanctioned Ships, Tracker Says

At least four oil tankers — and maybe as many as 16 — got through a US blockade on sanctioned vessels moving oil from Venezuela since the capture on Saturday of the Latin American country’s president Nicolas Maduro, according to TankerTrackers.com.

The vessels that definitely exited the Latin American nation’s territorial waters were transporting about 4 million barrels of crude and fuel, Samir Madani, co-founder of TankerTrackers.com, which specializes in analysis of satellite imagery, said Monday. The remainder have 8 million barrels on board, the firm estimates.

An oil tanker waits to be loaded with crude oil at Lake Maracaibo in Maracaibo, Zulia State, Venezuela.

Photographer: Federico Parra/AFP/Getty Images

It appeared that all 16 vessels rushed to leave on Saturday after ...