U.S. military seizes Russian-flagged tanker linked to Venezuelan oil

The U.S. military’s European Command has detained a Russian-flagged oil tanker linked to Venezuelan oil exports in the northern Atlantic Ocean, it announced on Wednesday.

“The vessel was seized in the North Atlantic pursuant to a warrant issued by a U.S. federal court after being tracked by USCGC Munro,” the statement said.

Shortly before the announcement, Reuters reported that the U.S. Coast Guard was conducting an operation to detain the tanker. Sources told the agency that Russian naval vessels were located in close proximity to the tanker and the Coast Guard vessels.

In late December, the Coast Guard attempted to apprehend the tanker, which was then known as the Bella 1 and flying Panama’s flag, in the Caribbean Sea as it headed towards Venezuela. Part of the global “shadow fleet,” the ship was sanctioned in 2024 for allegedly transporting Iranian oil. Its crew, consisting of citizens of Russia, Ukraine, and India, refused to comply with the U.S. military’s demands and changed course, after which the Coast Guard began pursuing it.

As the tanker fled the U.S. authorities, members of its crew painted a Russian flag on its hull. A few days later, the vessel appeared in the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping under the name Marinera.

According to The New York Times, on the evening of December 31, the Russian government sent the United States a formal diplomatic request to stop pursuing the tanker. On January 7, The Wall Street Journal reported that Russia had dispatched a submarine and “other naval assets” to escort the tanker.

This is a developing story.