Four tankers that had left Venezuela in ‘dark mode’ are back in its waters

At least four tankers, most ‍of them loaded, that had departed from Venezuela in early January in “dark mode” - ‍or with their transponders off amid a strict US blockade - are now back in the South American country’s waters, according to state company PDVSA and monitoring service TankerTrackers.com.A flotilla of about a dozen loaded vessels and at least ⁠three other empty ships left Venezuelan waters last month in apparent defiance of an embargo imposed by US President Donald Trump since mid-December, which has dragged down the country’s oil exports to minimum.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.One of the ships, the Panama-flagged supertanker M Sophia, was intercepted and seized by the US this week when returning to the country; while another, the Aframax tanker Olina with a flag ‍from Sao Tome And Principe, was intercepted but released to Venezuela on Friday, state company PDVSA ‍said.Three more of ‍the vessels that had ⁠departed in that