Video: US seizes Russian-flagged Venezuelan oil tanker in daring Atlantic chase
Abdullateef Fowewe
In a high-stakes operation spanning over two weeks across the Atlantic, U.S. forces on Wednesday seized the Russian-flagged oil tanker Marinera—formerly known as Bella-1—near Iceland, marking what officials described as the first such seizure of a Russian vessel in recent memory.
@dailyeconomy8 Video: US seizes Russian-flagged Venezuelan oil tanker in daring Atlantic chase In a high-stakes operation spanning over two weeks across the Atlantic, U.S. forces on Wednesday seized the Russian-flagged oil tanker Marinera—formerly known as Bella-1—near Iceland, marking what officials described as the first such seizure of a Russian vessel in recent memory. The move ramps up Washington’s campaign to enforce sanctions blocking Venezuelan oil exports, even as Russian military assets, including a shadowing submarine, lurked nearby. The tanker had loaded sanctioned Venezuelan crude in December 2025, slipped past initial U.S. Coast Guard blockades in the Caribbean, and evaded pursuit for 17 days while sailing under a fresh Russian flag. U.S. European Command announced the seizure on X, prompting a fiery response from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, “The blockade of sanctioned and illicit Venezuelan oil remains in FULL EFFECT — anywhere in the world.” Two U.S. officials, speaking anonymously to Reuters, detailed how Coast Guard teams, backed by special forces, boarded and secured the vessel without Russian interference, despite nearby Russian warships. The special forces later departed, leaving the tanker under Coast Guard control. Russia’s transport ministry reported losing all contact after the boarding, while senior lawmaker Andrei Klishas branded the action “an act of outright piracy,” according to TASS. This seizure follows a pattern of aggressive enforcement—Just days earlier, U.S. special forces raided Caracas, capturing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on drug trafficking charges.
Video: US seizes Russian-flagged Venezuelan oil tanker in daring Atlantic chase
The move ramps up Washington’s campaign to enforce sanctions blocking Venezuelan oil exports, even as Russian military assets, including a shadowing submarine, lurked nearby.
The tanker had loaded sanctioned Venezuelan crude in December 2025, slipped past initial U.S. Coast Guard blockades in the Caribbean, and evaded pursuit for 17 days while sailing under a fresh Russian flag.
U.S. European Command announced the seizure on X, prompting a fiery response from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, “The blockade of sanctioned and illicit Venezuelan oil remains in FULL EFFECT — anywhere in the world.”
Two U.S. officials, speaking anonymously to Reuters, detailed how Coast Guard teams, backed by special forces, boarded and secured the vessel without Russian interference, despite nearby Russian warships.
The special forces later departed, leaving the tanker under Coast Guard control.
Russia’s transport ministry reported losing all contact after the boarding, while senior lawmaker Andrei Klishas branded the action “an act of outright piracy,” according to TASS.
This seizure follows a pattern of aggressive enforcement—Just days earlier, U.S. special forces raided Caracas, capturing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on drug trafficking charges.
Last year, French Navy commandos similarly detained a suspected Russian “shadow fleet” tanker off western France.
The Marinera’s next destination remains unclear.
The operation underscores escalating U.S.-Russia tensions over Venezuela’s oil trade, with Dailyeconomy earlier reporting a Russian Borei-class ballistic missile submarine and escorts shielding the tanker toward Russia.
