Caribbean storage, Curaçao in focus as Venezuelan oil flows reroute under U.S. enforcement

WILLEMSTAD--Curaçao is quickly becoming one of the Caribbean’s key offloading and holding points as the United States tightens its grip on Venezuela’s crude exports, pushing volumes away from shadow fleet tankers and toward routes it can monitor and influence. Licensed exports to the U.S. continue under the Chevron arrangement, U.S. naphtha is still moving into Venezuela as diluent, and sanctioned Venezuelan crude is increasingly being shifted into Caribbean storage, including Curaçao, where trading houses such as Trafigura and Vitol can market cargoes for resale while buyers, paperwork, and enforcement conditions catch up.

Even with that shift, some tankers are still attempting to run the blockade, and U.S. authorities say they are escalating interdictions to bring remaining flows under control. U.S. Southern Command announced it seized the sanctioned aframax Sagitta (IMO: 9296822) in the Caribbean on Tuesday, calling it the seventh seizure since the blockade began last month, and framing the action as proof of its intent to ensure Venezuelan oil moves only through “proper” and “lawful” channels.

Analysts describe the bigger story as rerouting, not stopping. Vortexa’s Claire Jungman said roughly one-fifth of Venezuela’s seaborne crude exports have moved into Caribbean destinations since the crackdown began, including the Bahamas, Curaçao, and St Lucia, not because those islands are the end market, but because they offer storage, flexibility, and time. In this setup, the Caribbean functions as a staging area where cargoes can wait for downstream buyers, resale opportunities, or clearer signals on sanctions enforcement and license terms.

That reality is sharpening the spotlight on Curaçao. A separate episode has sparked debate after a tanker linked to Venezuelan crude discharged in Curaçao despite sanctions-related concerns and maritime red flags, raising questions about scrutiny standards, port responsibility, and how wider Kingdom obligations intersect with Curaçao’s autonomous decision-making.

Under the Kingdom structure, Curaçao has broad autonomy over internal affairs, but the Netherlands is responsible for foreign policy of the Kingdom as a whole, as outlined by the Dutch government.The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs characterized the tanker matter, as far as it was known, as a commercial transaction within Curaçao’s autonomous remit. Critics, including legal scholars cited in the wider discussion, argue that the geopolitical context makes the distinction harder to sustain in practice, because port decisions can carry foreign-relations consequences.

With Bullen Bay designed for large-scale crude handling and tied to major storage and transshipment capacity, Curaçao’s infrastructure is exactly what makes it attractive in turbulent sanctions environments, and exactly what makes it a flashpoint when enforcement and politics collide.

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