US seizes tanker in Atlantic after pursuing it for more than two weeks

The United States has seized a tanker in the North Atlantic that evaded the US blockade of sanctioned vessels off Venezuela and had been pursued for more than two weeks, US European Command (EUCOM) announced on X. Russia had previously sent a submarine and other assets to escort the tanker, now sailing under the Russian flag and formerly known as Bella 1, according to US media.

EUCOM said the vessel was detained for violating US sanctions. The operation was carried out by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agencies with support from the US military, the command said. The US Coast Guard, which pursued the vessel across the Atlantic, falls under the DHS in peacetime.

Several reconnaissance flights were spotted over the vessel in the 24 hours before the US operation, The Guardian reported. The newspaper said they included aircraft from US bases in Iceland and British military reconnaissance aircraft capable of detecting submarines.

The US Coast Guard first tried unsuccessfully to detain the vessel on 21 December in the Caribbean Sea, as it was heading to Venezuela to load oil. The ship, which was bound for Venezuela from Iran, evaded the attempted seizure and began fleeing from the US Coast Guard.

Before the tanker’s seizure was confirmed, Russian broadcaster RT reported that US forces were attempting to board it from a helicopter and published a photograph of a helicopter near the ship, Reuters reported. It was apparently an MH-6 Little Bird helicopter, used by US special forces, The Guardian wrote.

Russian military vessels, including a Russian submarine, were near the tanker during the US operation, US officials told Reuters. It is unclear how close the Russian vessels were, but according to the news agency, there was no indication of a clash between US and Russian forces.

The vessel, originally named Bella 1, recently appeared in Russia’s ship registry under the name Marinera, with its home port listed as Sochi on the Black Sea, The New York Times (NYT) reported.

At around 14:00 CET, the ship was approximately 200 kilometres off Iceland’s southern coast, the BBC reported. The vessel is owned by Louis Marine Shipholding Enterprises, based in Turkey, according to the broadcaster. The administration of former US President Joe Biden accused the company of links to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The United States also seized the sanctioned tanker Sophia today. The vessel had been involved in illegal activity in the Caribbean Sea, the US military’s SOUTHCOM command, which oversees all operations in the Caribbean, Central America and South America, said on X. The US Coast Guard is escorting the vessel to the United States, the command said.

US newspapers had previously warned that the situation surrounding the Bella 1/Marinera tanker could theoretically complicate talks between the United States and Russia over a potential peace deal to end Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.

Before today’s events, the US seized two other tankers in the Caribbean. The vessels, named Skipper and Centuries, are part of so-called shadow fleets that illegally transport oil from sanctioned countries such as Iran, Russia and Venezuela, CBS News reported.