The US special forces commandeered a Russian-flagged oil tanker with links to Venezuela in the North Atlantic after a weeks-long pursuit, drawing a sharp rebuke from Moscow.
The US military’s European Command said the Marinera oil tanker, originally known as the Bella-1, was seized on Wednesday “for violations of US sanctions”.
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“The blockade of sanctioned and illicit Venezuelan oil remains in FULL EFFECT – anywhere in the world,” US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote on social media.
The operation came after the Marinera slipped through a US maritime “blockade” of sanctioned tankers going to and from Venezuela and rebuffed US Coast Guard efforts to board it.
American officials say the tanker is part of a “shadow fleet” that has carried oil for countries such as Venezuela, Russia, and Iran in violation of US sanctions.
Russian state broadcaster RT reported US forces boarded the Marinera from a helicopter, and it published an image of the aircraft hovering near the ship.
RT cited an unnamed source as saying a US Coast Guard vessel has been following the tanker, and an attempt to seize it during a storm had already been carried out.
US forces have been pursuing the Marinera in the Atlantic Ocean since last month in the lead-up to the country’s military operation to abduct Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, which was carried out on Saturday.
Violation of maritime law: Russia
In a statement, the Russian Transport Ministry said the US seizure was a violation of maritime law.
“In accordance with the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, freedom of navigation applies in the high seas, and no state has the right to use force against vessels duly registered in the jurisdictions of other states,” it said in a statement.
The ministry added contact with the vessel, which it said received “temporary permission” to sail under the Russia flag on December 24, was lost after US naval forces boarded it “in the open sea, beyond the territorial waters of any state”.
Tracking data from MarineTraffic showed the tanker nearing Iceland’s exclusive economic zone before it was captured.
A Russian submarine and warship were in the vicinity as the operation unfolded, but there were no indications of any confrontation between US and Russian forces, Reuters news agency reported.
Reporting from Moscow, journalist Dmitry Medvedenko said there had been at least two attempts in the past weeks of “this cat-and-mouse game to seize this tanker”.
The Russian government has not confirmed whether it sent any vessels or submarines to accompany the Marinera, Medvedenko said.
“For reasons unclear to us, the Russian vessel is receiving heightened attention from the US and NATO militaries – attention that is clearly disproportionate to its peaceful status,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
The ship was sanctioned by the US in 2024 for allegedly smuggling cargo for a company linked to the Lebanese group Hezbollah.
The US Coast Guard tried to board it in the Caribbean in December as it headed for Venezuela. The ship refused boarding and headed across the Atlantic.
Wednesday’s seizure was the latest in US President Donald Trump’s crackdown on sanctioned oil tankers linked to Venezuela.
After capturing Maduro on Saturday, Trump said his government would “run” the South American country and develop its vast oil reserves. On Tuesday, the US leader also said Venezuela would hand over 30 million to 50 billion barrels of sanctioned oil to the United States.
US seizes second vessel
Separately, US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said a second vessel – supertanker M Sophia – was seized by American forces “in international waters near the Caribbean”.
Reuters said the vessel was Panama-flagged and under US sanctions.
It departed from Venezuelan waters this month as part of a fleet of ships carrying Venezuelan oil to China in “dark mode”, or with its transponder off, according to shipping data and sources, the news agency added.
In a social media post, Noem said both the M Sophia and the Marinera were “either last docked in Venezuela or en route to it”.
Reporting from Washington, DC, Al Jazeera’s Kimberly Halkett said the seizures are a “significant” development.
“It’s clear that there is an operation under way – a number of vessels that not only have been [pursued] but have now been apprehended,” Halkett said.
