Jesús Daniel Romero and William Acosta for Poder & Dinero and FinGurú
In a bold demonstration of maritime deception, the Maduro regime has intensified the use of so-called “zombie ships” to export oil in violation of U.S. sanctions. These ghost vessels—operating under stolen identities, forged documentation, and manipulated satellite signals—have become central to the regime's survival strategy (Bloomberg News, 2025; Logistics Nation, 2025). Nicolás Maduro and his financial operator Alex Saab have also applied similar tactics to the illicit gold trade, building a parallel sanctions evasion system that now operates on a global scale (ACAMS Today, 2022; Armando.info, 2023).
How Zombie Ships Operate
The Venezuelan zombie fleet employs maritime fraud methods combined with camouflage technologies to avoid detection by control agencies and insurers:
● Stolen Identities: Some vessels adopt the names and IMO numbers of scrapped ships. For example, the vessel Varada reached Malaysia in April 2025 with the identity of a tanker retired in 2017, when it was actually a sanctioned VLCC (Bloomberg News, 2025).
● AIS Manipulation: They turn off their Automatic Identification System (AIS), temporarily disappearing from satellite radars, especially when crossing strategic areas like the Caribbean or the Suez Canal (Logistics Nation, 2025).
● Flag Changes: They register the ships under flags of convenience like that of Comoros, whose authorities have little capacity for control or inspection (Oil Channel, 2025).
● High Seas Transfers: They transfer crude oil to other ships in international waters, making it difficult to trace the origin (Bloomberg News, 2025).
● False Locations: Some vessels emit false AIS data from regions like the Gulf of Guinea to mislead observers (Bloomberg News, 2025).
Recent Cases: Anatomy of Deception
Starboard Maritime Intelligence and Bloomberg identified at least four ghost vessels that departed from the José and Amuay terminals, with over 7 million barrels of crude on board:
● “Varada” / “M Sophia” Case: The M Sophia, a 32-year-old VLCC, arrived in Malaysia on April 18, 2025, with a stolen identity. It had made multiple transfers at sea and falsified its location during the journey (Bloomberg News, 2025).
● Vessels Gema, Alana, and New Inspiration: All of these took extended routes via the Cape of Good Hope, concealed their cargoes, and showed visual discrepancies compared to the actual ships they claimed to be (La República, 2025).
Strategic Impact and Growing Risks
● Sanctions Evasion: Despite restrictions, Venezuela continues generating revenue that mostly ends up in the hands of strategic partners like China (Infobae, 2025).
● Environmental Risks: These vessels are neither insured nor audited, raising the risk of catastrophic spills (Oil Channel, 2025).
● International Gaps: Regulatory bodies are lagging behind the regime's new tactics, limiting international response capabilities (Logistics Nation, 2025).
● Internal Economic Crisis: While the regime secures resources, most Venezuelans face poverty, blackouts, and mass exoduses (Armando.info, 2023).
U.S. Response: Sanctions, Tariffs, and Arrests
● Direct Sanctions: In January 2025, the U.S. sanctioned the M Sophia, linked to Russian and Venezuelan networks (Bloomberg News, 2025).
● Tariffs: In March 2025, President Donald Trump imposed a 25% tariff on any Venezuelan oil, even if it arrived via intermediaries in China or Macau (CNN Español, 2025).
“Any country or company that violates the sanctions will be punished with severe consequences,” warned President Trump.
● Torlak Case: On November 4, 2024, the DOJ arrested Turkish citizen Taskin Torlak, accused of coordinating a smuggling scheme for Venezuelan and Iranian oil with payments in the U.S. and AIS manipulation (U.S. DOJ, 2024).
“Torlak and his accomplices used deception to smuggle crude in favor of PDVSA.”
— U.S. Department of Justice (2024)
● International Cooperation: The U.S. promotes alliances with regulators, insurers, and recipient countries like Malaysia and China (N Digital, 2025).
From Oil to Gold: The Saab Model
Alex Saab organized a parallel network based on bartering gold for gasoline, food, and industrial supplies, primarily with Turkey and Iran (BBC News, 2019; Díaz Reus, 2021). The scheme included:
● Extraction in the Orinoco Mining Arc
● Exports to Turkey
● Exchanges with Iran for gasoline and spare parts
● Use of shell companies for money laundering (FDD, 2019)
Although Saab was extradited and charged in the U.S., he was released in 2024 through a prisoner swap under the Biden administration (ACAMS Today, 2022). Since then, Vice President Delcy Rodríguez has taken on key diplomatic roles, with documented trips to China, Russia, and Iran (Infobae, 2025).
Conclusion: A 21st Century Smuggling Empire
The zombie ship strategy is not improvised. It is a complex, well-funded operation supported by geopolitical alliances. Through stolen identities, technological manipulation, and a barter economy, the regime has sophisticated the evasion of international sanctions.
Can the international community adapt quickly enough to stop this model before it replicates globally?
As Bloomberg concludes:
“The zombie fleet of Venezuela has opened a new chapter in 21st-century hydrocarbon smuggling” (Bloomberg News, 2025).
References
ACAMS Today. (2022, June 16). The product of crime: The story of Alex Saab. https://www.acamstoday.org/el-producto-del-crimen-la-historia-de-alex-saab/
Armando.info. (2023, April 9). The Alex Saab case. https://armando.info/series/el-caso-de-alex-saab/
BBC News. (2019, February 2). Turkey warned over Venezuela gold trade. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-47092784
Bloomberg News. (2025, April 29). Zombie ships of Venezuela: This is how they evade U.S. sanctions heading to Asia and China. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-04-29/buques-zombi-de-venezuela-asi-burlan-sanciones-de-ee-uu-rumbo-a-asia-y-china
Blu Radio. (2025, April 30). PDVSA would be using "zombie" ships to move oil, according to the report [Video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdKsLnX5YcU
CNN Español. (2025, March 24). Trump says that any country buying oil from Venezuela will face a 25% tariff. https://cnnespanol.cnn.com/2025/03/24/eeuu/aranceles-paises-petroleo-venezuela-trax/
Díaz Reus. (2021, January 13). Maduro relies on Iran after Rosneft's exit from Venezuela, paying with gold. https://diazreus.com/maduro-se-apoya-en-iran-tras-salida-de-rosneft-de-venezuela-y-paga-con-oro/
Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). (2019, July 26). Treasury’s Venezuela sanctions target the tip of the Turkish iceberg. https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2019/07/26/treasurys-venezuela-sanctions-target-the-tip-of-the-turkish-iceberg/
Infobae. (2025, April 29). “Zombie ships”: The new tactic to evade sanctions and transport Venezuelan oil. https://www.infobae.com/venezuela/2025/04/29/buques-zombis-la-nueva-tactica-para-burlar-las-sanciones-y-transportar-petroleo-venezolano/
La República. (2025, April 29). Zombie ships quickly become part of Venezuelan oil trade. https://www.larepublica.co/globoeconomia/los-barcos-zombi-se-vuelven-rapidamente-parte-del-comercio-de-petrolero-venezolano-4122087
N Digital. (2025, January 10). Iran and Venezuela: A strategic cooperation alliance in military and economic matters. https://n.com.do/2025/01/10/iran-y-venezuela-una-alianza-estrategica-de-cooperacion-militar-y-economica/
Logistics Nation. (2025, April 29). Zombie ships: The new tactic to evade sanctions and keep trade afloat. https://nacionlogistica.com/buques-zombis-la-nueva-tactica-para-burlar-sanciones-y-mantener-a-flote-el-comercio/
Oil Channel. (2025, April 29). Zombie ships resurge in Venezuelan crude trade, experts warn. https://oilchannel.tv/noticias/buques-zombis-resurgen-en-el-comercio-de-crudo-venezolano-alertan-expertos
United States Department of Justice. (2020, August 14). Largest U.S. seizure of Iranian fuel from four tankers. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/largest-us-seizure-iranian-fuel-four-tankers
United States Department of Justice. (2024, November 4). Turkish national arrested for allegedly conspiring to violate Venezuela-related sanctions. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/turkish-national-arrested-allegedly-conspiring-violate-venezuela-related-sanctions
Jesús Daniel Romero is a retired Commander of U.S. Naval Intelligence. Co-Founder and Senior Fellow of Miami Strategic Intelligence Institute and author of the Amazon bestseller “The final flight: the queen of air.”
He is also a regular participant in Florida media, where he is frequently consulted on matters of his expertise.
William Acosta is the Founder and CEO of Equalizer Investigations, an investigative organization that has participated in criminal investigations worldwide prominently. William served in the New York Police Department and also contributed to interdisciplinary teams in money laundering investigations carried out by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Topics such as counterterrorism, human trafficking, and drug trafficking have also seen him prominently involved in multiple investigations.
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