China's Foreign Ministry said on Monday that the seizure by the United States of another country's vessels was a'serious violation of international law', after the U.S. stopped a China bound oil tanker near the Venezuelan coastline. China's Lin Jian, a spokesperson for the foreign ministry, said that Venezuela has a right to develop its relations with other nations. He also stated that China opposes all "unilateral" and "illegal" sanctions. The U.S. Coast Guard intercepted another oil tanker on Saturday in international waters near the Venezuelan coast, just days after President Donald Trump declared a "blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela."

Documents showed that the tanker Centuries loaded in Venezuela using the false name of "Crag", and was carrying 1.8 million barrels Venezuelan Merey crude destined for?China.

Documents showed that Satau Tijana Oil Trading was one of the many intermediaries involved in Venezuelan oil company PDVSA’s sales to independent Chinese refiners.

The White House said that the "falsely?flagged vessel", which carried sanctioned crude oil, was part of Venezuela's Shadow fleet.

Venezuelan government

Call us today to learn more about our services.

The tanker intercept is a "serious act of international piracy."

China is the largest buyer of Venezuelan crude oil, accounting for about 4% of all its imports.

(source: Reuters)