The United States has seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker linked to Venezuela, marking a dramatic escalation in its sanctions enforcement and risking further tensions with Moscow.
The vessel, formerly known as Bella-1 and now renamed Marinera, was intercepted in the North Atlantic Ocean on Wednesday after being pursued by the US Coast Guard and military for more than two weeks, US officials said.
Seizure Conducted Under US Sanctions Enforcement
The operation was carried out pursuant to a warrant issued by a US federal court, and involved coordination between the Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Defense, according to US European Command. The tanker was tracked by the Coast Guard cutter Munro before US forces took control.
The Marinera had previously slipped through a US-imposed maritime “blockade” on sanctioned vessels near Venezuela and rebuffed earlier Coast Guard attempts to board it. Before its seizure, open-source maritime data showed the ship travelling between Scotland and Iceland, north in the Atlantic.
US officials said the vessel had been sanctioned in 2024 for alleged involvement in transporting illicit oil and other sanctioned activities. In recent weeks, the US has also intercepted other Venezuela-linked tankers, with a second ship intercepted in the Caribbean Sea, described by military sources as operating “illicitly.”
Russian Response and Geopolitical Context
Moscow condemned the seizure as an unlawful act. A senior Russian legislator described the action as “outright piracy”, and the Transport Ministry said it lost contact with the Marinera after US forces boarded it, asserting that no state has the right to use force against a vessel lawfully registered under another country’s flag.
Russian state media released images showing a helicopter near the tanker during the operation, although it was not clear how close Russian naval assets were at the time of seizure. Reports earlier suggested a Russian submarine and warship had been in the general vicinity of the tanker while the US pursued it.
Broader Crackdown on Venezuelan Oil Exports
The seizure forms part of a broader US campaign to enforce sanctions and block sanctioned oil shipments, especially those tied to Venezuela and other adversaries, including alleged actors linked to Iranian networks. The United States says the effort aims to curtail illicit oil trafficking and uphold sanctions that target entities believed to undermine regional security.
In related actions, the US Coast Guard had also intercepted a second sanctioned tanker, and officials stated US maritime pressure on sanctioned vessels will continue.