AMERICAN SEIZED SHIPS: CHINA & RUSSIA CATERS TO IRAN
- Michael Thervil
- 1 hour ago
- 3 min read
Written by Michael Thervil
[Russia China seized ships Iran] In the latest round of what the international community is calling “a break in global governance”, the Americans have seized two oil tankers which were under American sanctions in the north Atlantic and Caribbean that were linked to Russia. One of the seized ships which successfully evaded the American naval blockade last month named “Marinera/Bella 1” were among the ships seized by the American military and was on course to sail to Russia and the name of the second oil tanker was “Marinera”. The seized ships were allegedly headed to Venezuela. Russia has yet to respond. It was reported that the United Kingdom informed the Americans by request about the whereabouts of the two vessels and provided additional intelligence as well. The UK Defense Ministry stated:
“Our UK Armed Forces showed skill and professionalism in support of a successful U.S. interception of the vessel Bella 1 while on its way to Russia. This action formed part of global efforts to crack down on sanctions busting.”
However, Russia is not the only country that the Americans are looking to adversely impact; China is also a target of the Americans as well. While this appears to be a solution to prolong the power of the Americans in the western hemisphere, in the age of multi-polarization both Russia and China have reportedly sought to circumvent and thus undermine the actions of the Americans. In the case of Russia, Russian officials stated although the vessel [Marinera/Bella 1] was not officially theirs, it did however obtain permission to sail under the Russian flag. Russia utilizing moving oil and gas over the high seas via “Shadow Fleets” to bypass American led sanctions is anything but an open secret.
In the case of China, China has decided to look towards Iran to obtain its oil and gas needs. This is a bilateral deal that not only enhances diplomatic relations between the two countries, but a bilateral deal under these conditions will allow for the strengthening of commercial and economic ties between the two nations. For China, it needs a reliable partner that can deliver cheap oil and gas so that it can continue its production and deployment of Artificial Intelligence. On the other end of the spectrum, Iran, which is currently dealing with a water and economic crisis, needs a buyer like China that can make oil and gas purchases regularly so that it can avoid socioeconomic collapse. Prior to the Americans illegally seizing vessels in the high seas, China purchased an estimated 389,000 barrels per day, that number is expected to significantly increase the longer the Trump Administration keeps to course on its actions.
OUR POSITION AT VEDA WORLD NEWS
Despite the talk coming from the Trump Administration, oil and gas companies are not in a rush to take over the Venezuelan oil and gas sector. The reason for this is because the oil is simply too heavy in terms of quality which increases refining time and task and the cost to revamp Venezuelan oil refineries which have not been upgraded in 25 years and facilities are estimated to cost well over $100 billion dollars and well over a decade to successfully break even in profits. At that rate it would mean that American oil and gas companies would have to be there a minimum of 20 years to start seeing actual profits. Then there are the hidden variables such as uprisings, safety liabilities, oil spills, attacks and sabotage which could add on additional cost to American oil companies.
In short there are too many variables both known and unknown at play for the Trump Administration and American oil companies to essentially gamble when it comes to taking over the Venezuelan oil and gas sector. Again, in the age of multipolarity, it should be expected at some point that eastern oil and gas refiners began to start resisting and pushing back on the notion of shipping oil and gas to America due to geopolitical tensions and strained or in some cases broken diplomatic relations. Give credence to our position at VEDA World News is the fact that Saudi Arabia, and major oil and gas supplier to the Americans, has been considering significantly cutting down the production of oil and/or simply looking to get out of the oil and gas business altogether.
In short, America is increasing their risk of becoming isolated in an ever increasing multi-polarized world.