The M/T Skipper seized by U.S. Coast Guard, was a sanctioned crude-oil tanker previously identified as part of an oil shipping network supporting Lebanese group Hezbollah and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force, both U.S.-designated terrorist organizations.

Along with the blockade, Trump said he has formally designated Venezuela's Maduro and his government allies a foreign terrorist organization.

The cost of shipping oil is likely to remain high in the first half of 2026 as the global fleet ages and a rising number of vessels are hit with Western sanctions, shipping sources say, though rates could be capped in the second half.