U.S. says it’s seized two oil tankers linked to Venezuela
Global News
The tanker had recently changed its name from Bella 1 to the Marinera and adopted a Russian flag.
U.S. forces have seized a sanctioned, Russian-flagged oil tanker in the North Atlantic after it slipped out of Venezuela last month.
The vessel was initially pursued by the U.S. Coast Guard in December 2025 after it tried to evade a U.S. blockade around Venezuela. The ship refused boarding by the U.S. Coast Guard when it attempted to seize it.
The ship is one of several sanctioned oil tankers that were operating close to Venezuela within a “shadow fleet,” and had been under U.S. watch since 2024 for allegedly transporting illicit cargo for a company linked to a Lebanese faction of the militant group Hezbollah.
The tanker had recently changed its name from Bella 1 to the Marinera and adopted a Russian flag.
Earlier Wednesday, open-source maritime tracking sites showed its position between Scotland and Iceland, travelling north. A U.S. official also confirmed to The Associated Press that the ship was in the North Atlantic.
U.S. military planes have flown over the vessel, and on Tuesday, a Royal Air Force surveillance plane was shown on flight-tracking sites flying over the same area.
A second “stateless” vessel was seized in international waters early Wednesday, the U.S. Southern Command announced on X.
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