The US says it has seized two sanctioned oil tankers linked to Venezuela after in back-to-back actions in the North Atlantic and the Caribbean, officials said on Wednesday.
Originally called the Bella 1, the tanker was sanctioned by the US in 2024 for operating within a “shadow fleet” of tankers transporting illicit oil.
US European Command announced the seizure of the merchant vessel Bella 1 for “violations of US sanctions”. A Coast Guard cutter had pursued the tanker into the waters between Scotland and Iceland after it tried to avoid being ensnared by the US blockade on sanctioned oil vessels around Venezuela.
The Bella 1 was reflagged as Russian and renamed the Marinera after turning toward Europe.
The US military handed control of it to law enforcement officials after seizing it, said a US official, who spoke to The Associated Press on Wednesday on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations.
The ship was sanctioned by the US in 2024 for allegedly smuggling cargo for a company linked to Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran.
The Russian military had started to move around naval assets and a Russian submarine to protect the Bella 1 leading up to the US seizure of the tanker, according to a US official. But it’s unclear how close those vessels were to the tanker when it was seized on Wednesday, the source said.
The tanker was seized by the US is roughly 305 kilometres off the southern coast of Iceland in the northern Atlantic Ocean, according to ship-tracking website MarineTraffic.
The site shows the tanker taking a sharp turn south around the time that reports emerged of its seizure.
The US separately seized another vessel in the Caribbean on Wednesday, the US Southern Command announced on X. Southern Command said the vessel is considered to be stateless and alleged that it was “conducting illicit activities”.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem celebrated the two seizures in a social media post, saying, “The world’s criminals are on notice. You can run, but you can’t hide. We will never relent in our mission to protect the American people and disrupt the funding of narco terrorism wherever we find it, period.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday that President Donald Trump is “not afraid” to continue seizing sanctioned oil tankers despite concerns that it could ratchet up tensions with Russia and China.
“He’s going to enforce our policy that’s best for the United States of America,” she told reporters during a press briefing.
“That means enforcing the embargo against all dark fleet vessels that are illegally transporting oil.”
The US Coast Guard had tried to seize the tanker last month when it was near Venezuela, but US forces were unable to board it after the ship turned around and fled.
The US continued to pursue the vessel as it headed northeast, and US P-8 surveillance aircraft were deployed out of RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk, England, to survey the tanker for days ahead of its seizure as it made its way north and past the UK coast, according to open-source flight data.
Noem also said in the social media post that the US Coast Guard Cutter Munro had been following the ship “across the high seas and through treacherous storms— keeping diligent watch, and protecting our country with the determination and patriotism that make Americans proud.”
At some point while being pursued, the crew of the tanker painted a Russian flag on its hull, claiming it was sailing under Russian protection.
Shortly thereafter, the vessel appeared on Russia’s official register of ships under a new name — the Marinera. Russia filed a formal diplomatic request last month demanding that the US stop pursuing the vessel.
By claiming Russian status, the legalities of seizing the tanker could become more complicated, but two sources familiar with the matter said the Trump administration hasn’t recognised that status and considers the vessel to be stateless.
At a briefing with key lawmakers on Monday, Rubio said the US believed Russia could not just claim the tanker, according to a source familiar with the briefing. Rubio discussed the matter only briefly and he did not make clear if the message was conveyed directly to the Russian government.
The US repositioned military assets to the UK ahead of seizing the tanker, CNN reported.
At least 12 US C-17s landed at Fairford and Lakenheath airbases between January 3 and 5, many originating from airfields in the US.
V-22 Ospreys were also active in the UK over the past several days, with flight data appearing to show them running training missions in the eastern UK out of Fairford air base. And two AC-130 gunships were seen arriving at Mildenhall base in the UK on Sunday.
The UK provided support to the US, according to the British defence ministry.
“UK Armed Forces provided pre-planned operational support, including basing, to US military assets interdicting the Bella 1 in the UK-Iceland-Greenland gap following a US request for assistance,” the ministry said in a statement.
The UK’s RFA Tideforce tanker provided support for US forces “pursuing and interdicting” the vessel, while its air force “provided surveillance support from the air,” it continued.
The US last used Special Operations Forces and assets to help interdict a sanctioned tanker on December 11, when it supported a US Coast Guard operation near the coast of Venezuela to seize the Skipper, a very large crude carrier that was falsely flying Guyana’s flag.
US President Donald Trump last month announced a “complete blockade” on sanctioned oil tankers attempting to enter or leave Venezuela, as a way to pressure the regime of then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
The US captured Maduro from a compound in Caracas early on Saturday morning, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said the US will continue to enforce the blockade as “leverage” over the interim Venezuelan government.