The United States has seized a Russian tanker with affiliations with Venezuela after a long pursuit of the vessel in the Atlantic Ocean. The pursuit of the vessel took place while Russian naval activities were in the region.
The tanker, which is listed under “Bella 1” before it was re-registered under “Marinera,” has been intercepted by the US authorities in international waters near the coast of Iceland, according to a statement by the US government. This is part of the increasing attempts by the US government to ban the export of Venezuelan oil after the recent capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro last week.
In a post on X, the US European Command further clarified that: “This operation was carried out by the US Coast Guard in collaboration with the US Department of Justice and US Department of Defense after a warrant issued by a federal court.”
The tanker has been trailed by a cutter from the United States Coast Guard, which is called “Munro,” and aircraft observers since the tanker attempted to go around a maritime blockade created by the United States around Venezuela. The forces of the United States have already attempted to board a tanker, but when they tried, the tanker resisted and headed to the northeast part of the Atlantic Ocean.
“The Americans have said that the search went on for several days while the ship was traveling down the coast of the UK before being intercepted near Iceland,” he added.
The involvement of the Russian Fleet increases the stakes
As reported in Reuters with comments provided by US officials, Russians were believed to have some of their ships and a submarine in the vicinity during this attack. It is not clear how close they were or whether a communication took place.
However, there was no sign of an altercation occurring between US soldiers and Russian soldiers, as was being reported. However, with Russian warships present, which were close to an active US seizure, this served to elevate geopolitical tensions.
Russia’s transport ministry later reported that it lost contact with the tanker after the US military boarded the tanker.
It is a Russian ship, isn’t it?
Precisely, the legal status of the vessel is clearly central to this matter. The tanker ship was registered in other nations but changed registration to that of Russia during the chase and ended up being registered in Russia by that name: “Marinera”. The crew of the ship even painted on Russian markings onto it so that it could fall under protection by the Russian flag.
The government of Moscow officially asked the US to stop trying to seize the vessel last month. A prominent Russian parliamentarian called the seizure “outright piracy.”
But according to US officials, Washington does not recognize the vessel’s Russian nationality and considers it stateless. The tanker was subject to sanctions in 2024 over its engagement in a “shadow fleet” of oil smuggling.
Part of Trump’s Venezuela crackdown: Venezuelan protesters clash
The seizure took place amid a robust campaign by US President Donald Trump to strangle Venezuelan oil exports. Indeed, as of mid-December, the US has been actively conducting a global maritime blockade of the sanctioned Venezuelan oil exports.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that the blockade remains “in full effect — anywhere in the world.”
It has accused Venezuela of using shadow fleets to ship oil to China and other buyers in violation of sanctions.
Second tanker seized on same day
In a development separate from the MSC Sandra seizure, US Southern Command said it has seized another tanker linked with Venezuela, the M/T Sophia, in the Caribbean Sea. Calling the vessel a “stateless, sanctioned dark fleet tanker,” it was intercepted without incident and is being escorted to the United States.
Shipping data showed the tanker, which was loaded with close to a million barrels of oil, departed Venezuelan waters in early May with its transponder off.
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UK stays silent while US forces operate in its vicinity
The seizure also shed light on the US military’s activities in Britain. The UK Ministry declined to comment on the operation, an extension of its long-standing policy of not discussing the activities of allied forces.
In the recent past, the US transport aircraft and special operations forces have been spotted at the UK Royal Air Force/US Air Force bases in RAF Fairford and RAF Mildenhall shared with the UK Royal Air Force following the capture of Maduro in Venezuela.
What happens next
It has not been confirmed where the tanker could be going or what the US intends to do with it. The US officials hinted that the tanker could enter the British territorial waters.
This is indeed one of the most historic seizures to date under Washington’s policy regarding Venezuela, as well as amongst the first ever where an asset under the protection of a Russian-flag vessel has been confiscated by US military personnel on international waters.
Though the squeeze is mounting for Caracas and there are tensions between Venezuela and Russia below the radar, this particular incident talks about how the Venezuelan oil industry is a hotspot worldwide outside of Latin America.
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