The US has seized an oil tanker linked to Venezuela after monitoring it throughout the Atlantic, in accordance to a social media post from US European Command.
Originally called the Bella 1, the tanker was sanctioned by the US in 2024 for working inside a “shadow fleet” of tankers transporting illicit oil.
News of the seizure was first reported Wednesday by Reuters, which quoted two sources as saying the operation was being carried out by the Coast Guard and US army.
The Russian army had began to transfer round naval belongings and a Russian submarine to shield the Bella 1 main up to the US seizure of the tanker, in accordance to a US official. But it’s unclear how shut these vessels have been to the tanker when it was seized on Wednesday, the supply mentioned.
The tanker was seized by the US is roughly 190 miles off the southern coast of Iceland within the northern Atlantic Ocean, in accordance to ship-tracking web site MarineTraffic.
The website exhibits the tanker taking a pointy flip south across the time that stories emerged of its seizure.
The US individually seized one other vessel within the Caribbean on Wednesday, the US Southern Command announced on X. Southern Command mentioned the vessel is taken into account to be stateless and alleged that it was “conducting illicit activities.”
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem celebrated the 2 seizures in a social media submit, 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.”
The US Coast Guard had tried to seize the Bella 1 tanker final month when it was close to Venezuela, however US forces didn’t board it after the ship circled and fled.
The US continued to pursue the vessel because it headed northeast, and US P-8 surveillance plane have been deployed out of RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk, England, to surveil the tanker for days forward of its seizure because it made its approach north and previous the UK coast, in accordance to open-source flight knowledge.
Noem additionally mentioned within the social media submit 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 level whereas being pursued, the crew of the tanker painted a Russian flag on its hull, claiming it was crusing underneath Russian safety.
Shortly thereafter, the vessel appeared on Russia’s official register of ships underneath a brand new identify — the Marinera. Russia filed a formal diplomatic request final month demanding that the US cease pursuing the vessel.
By claiming Russian standing, the legalities of seizing the tanker turned extra sophisticated, however two sources acquainted with the matter mentioned the Trump administration hasn’t acknowledged that standing and considers the vessel to be stateless.
At a briefing with key lawmakers Monday, Rubio mentioned the US believed Russia couldn’t simply declare the tanker, in accordance to a supply acquainted with the briefing. Rubio mentioned the matter solely briefly and he didn’t clarify if the message was conveyed instantly to the Russian authorities.
The US repositioned army belongings to the UK forward of seizing the tanker, NCS has reported.
At least 12 US C-17s landed at Fairford and Lakenheath airbases between January 3 and 5, many originating from airfields within the US.
V-22 Ospreys have been additionally energetic within the UK over the previous a number of days, with flight knowledge showing to present them working coaching missions within the japanese UK out of Fairford air base. And two AC-130 gunships have been seen arriving at Mildenhall base within the UK on Sunday.
The UK additionally labored with the US on planning for the seizure operation and supplied some army assist for the mission, a US official mentioned.
The US final used Special Operations Forces and belongings to assist interdict a sanctioned tanker on December 11, when it supported a US Coast Guard operation close to the coast of Venezuela to seize the Skipper, a really giant crude provider that was falsely flying Guyana’s flag.
President Donald Trump final month introduced a “complete blockade” on sanctioned oil tankers making an attempt to enter or go away Venezuela, as a approach to strain the regime of then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
The US captured Maduro from a compound in Caracas early Saturday morning, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio has mentioned the US will proceed to implement the blockade as “leverage” over the interim Venezuelan authorities.
NCS’s Kylie Atwood, Jennifer Hansler, Kaanita Iyer and Gianluca Mezzofiore contributed to this report.
The headline and story have been up to date with further developments.