The Ocean Chase Is Over: How Two Russian Tankers Will 'Disappear'

The US government has sold for scrapping two Russian-flagged oil tankers, Era and Lileo, seized in January. They will be dismantled in India by GMS, a Dubai-based company. Era was captured after a chase in the Atlantic Ocean, and Lileo was seized in the Caribbean. The deal amount was not disclosed.

The US government has sold for scrapping two oil tankers that sailed under the Russian flag and were seized in January as part of the crackdown on trade in oil subject to sanctions. The tankers, Era and Lileo, were sold last month to GMS, a Dubai-based company specializing in ship dismantling, and will be broken up at shipyards in India. The deal amount was not disclosed. The company's CEO, Anil Sharma, said the sale was carried out following a court order, and that handling the ships is complex due to the difficulty of determining who their previous owners were. The tanker Era was captured after a chase lasting weeks in the Atlantic Ocean, after evading an arrest attempt in the Caribbean. Washington claimed it was used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran. Lileo was also seized in January in the Caribbean and was subject to sanctions against Russia. The United States has seized up to ten oil tankers following operations in Venezuela, as part of enforcing sanctions on Russian, Iranian, and Venezuelan oil.