According to a message released by the U.S. European Command on social media on Wednesday (January 7th), the U.S. military has successfully apprehended a Russian oil tanker crossing the North Atlantic for two weeks and with ties to Venezuela.
The tanker, originally named “Bella 1,” is suspected of belonging to a fleet transporting illegal oil, which was sanctioned by the United States as early as 2024. Last month, the U.S. Coast Guard attempted to intercept the ship near Venezuela, but it quickly turned and fled, later changing its registration to Russian in a bid for asylum.
According to Reuters citing officials on Wednesday, the apprehension operation was carried out jointly by the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. military.
CNN reported that as the U.S. continued the chase northeastward, the crew of the ship, in an attempt to evade law enforcement, hand-drew the Russian flag on the vessel, claiming Russian protection. Subsequently, the ship was officially registered under the new name “Marinera” on the Russian official ship register. Despite formal diplomatic requests from Russia ordering the U.S. to stop the pursuit, the Trump administration refuses to acknowledge the change in identity, still treating the ship as a stateless vessel subject to sanctions.
The Wall Street Journal quoted experts as saying that Russia’s unusually allowing the ship to register without inspection or usual procedures indicates Moscow’s extreme concern over the frequent confiscation of its “shadow fleet” assets by the U.S. – these vessels are crucial lifelines for Russia to circumvent sanctions and support its war economy.
In order to ensure the smooth operation of the maritime interception, the U.S. military recently redeployed military resources on a large scale to British bases. Open-source flight data shows that the U.S. dispatched P-8 surveillance aircraft from RAF Mildenhall in the UK to conduct several days of continuous monitoring as the tanker passed off the coast of the UK.
Meanwhile, two AC-130 gunships have arrived at RAF Mildenhall in the UK. In addition, a large number of V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft and at least 12 C-17 transport planes have landed at RAF Fairford and RAF Lakenheath bases.
The interception operation is currently near the waters of Iceland. This marks the U.S. military’s first attempt in recent years to confiscate a ship flying the Russian flag. Officials warned that Russian military vessels, including a submarine, are active in the vicinity to protect the empty tanker that has not yet loaded oil bound for Venezuela.
The tanker originally set sail from Iran, destined for Venezuela to load crude oil. However, due to increased U.S. maritime blockade measures against Venezuela last month, the ship was intercepted by the U.S. Coast Guard near Venezuelan waters, preventing it from docking or loading cargo, prompting it to flee into the Atlantic.
The U.S. holds a federal court seizure order against the ship for its long-term assistance to sanctioned countries in transporting illicit oil. Faced with Russia’s defense of the “empty ship,” the U.S. emphasizes that even though the ship is currently without cargo, it is a key asset in prolonged illegal trading and circumventing international sanctions, and therefore must be legally seized by the U.S.
This maritime operation is the latest development following President Trump’s initiation of a “comprehensive blockade” against Venezuela. Last Saturday, U.S. special forces raided the Venezuelan capital Caracas, successfully capturing President Maduro and extraditing him to New York for trial.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the U.S. will continue to enforce the maritime blockade as a diplomatic lever against the transitional government of Venezuela. In response to allegations from Maduro regime officials accusing the U.S. of attempting to steal the country’s oil reserves, the U.S. points out that in the nationalization movement of the past half-century, Venezuela has been “stealing American oil.” This operation is essentially about reclaiming the occupied property.