TRIESTE – The United States has seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker linked to Venezuelan crude flows, after weeks of pursuit in the Atlantic. Russia is contesting the operation and points to freedom of navigation on the high seas.
The tanker Marinera, previously known as Bella-1, was stopped by US armed forces on the grounds of violations of the sanctions regime imposed on Caracas. US European Command confirmed the seizure, which took place on Wednesday, saying the ship is involved in sanctioned oil trade.
According to Washington, the Marinera is part of the so-called ‘shadow fleet’ used to transport crude on behalf of Venezuela, Russia and Iran by evading sanctions. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reiterated that the blockade on Venezuelan oil remains in force «anywhere in the world». The operation followed the ship’s evasion of US Coast Guard checks and its refusal of a boarding in the Caribbean, after which it headed into the Atlantic. US officials, quoted by Reuters, say the seizure was carried out jointly by the Coast Guard and the military.
Russian media released images of a US military helicopter during the boarding, claiming that a first seizure attempt had already taken place in adverse weather conditions. Moscow says the vessel received temporary authorisation to sail under the Russian flag on 24 December and that communications stopped after the US intervention on the high seas. Russia’s Foreign Ministry cites the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, arguing that no state may use force against properly registered vessels of another country in international waters. According to Moscow, the attention of the US and NATO is «clearly disproportionate» to the ship’s civilian status.
Tracking data indicated the Marinera was approaching Iceland’s exclusive economic zone before the seizure. Sources cited by Reuters report the presence nearby of a Russian submarine and a Russian naval vessel, though without any direct confrontation. The tanker had already been sanctioned by the United States in 2024 over alleged illegal shipments linked to a company connected to Hezbollah. The seizure fits the hard line of Donald Trump’s administration on Venezuelan oil. After the capture of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, Trump said the United States intends to assume operational control of the country and develop its oil reserves.
Also on Wednesday, the US Department of Homeland Security announced the seizure of a second vessel, the supertanker M Sophia, stopped in international waters near the Caribbean. The Panama-flagged ship, also sanctioned, is said to have carried Venezuelan crude to China with its transponder turned off, according to navigation data.
