Nine oil tankers and four companies were placed on the US Treasury Department’s blacklist on Friday, as Washington sought to ratchet up sanctions on the government of Venezuela. Three of the sanctioned companies – Jennifer Navigation, Lima Shipping, and Large Range Ltd. – are based in Liberia, while PB Tankers SPA is based in Italy. Of the nine ships added to the blacklist, two are registered in Italy, four in Malta, two in Greece and one in Panama. The US has already confiscated much of Venezuela’s gold and oil industry assets, seeking to effect regime change in Caracas and depose President Nicolas Maduro in favor of US-backed opposition leader Juan Guaido.