US forces seized the Russian-flagged oil tanker Marinera in a predawn operation Wednesday in the North Atlantic, successfully boarding the vessel that evaded Coast Guard pursuit for more than two weeks.
The operation, conducted by US Navy SEALs transported by the Army’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment and Coast Guard personnel, seized the vessel approximately 190 miles south of Iceland despite Russia’s diplomatic request to halt the pursuit.
Read: Russia Demands US Stop Pursuing Bella 1 After Registering Tanker as ‘Marinera’
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Alexei Zhuravlev, a State Duma member, called for Russia to sink US Coast Guard vessels with torpedoes in response to the seizure. Zhuravlev claimed Russian warships were in the area where the seizure occurred.
Russia’s Transport Ministry issued an official condemnation, stating the seizure violated international law. “No state has the right to use force against vessels duly registered in the jurisdictions of other states,” the ministry said, NBC News reported. The ministry confirmed the vessel received temporary authorization to sail under the Russian flag on December 24 and that contact was lost after US forces boarded.
Russian military vessels, including a submarine, were nearby during the operation, according to CNN, though it remains unclear how close they were when the boarding occurred.
The White House maintained the tanker remained “stateless” despite its Russian registration because it was flying a false flag when the Coast Guard first attempted to board it on December 20. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called it a “Venezuelan shadow fleet vessel” that transported sanctioned oil.
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Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem credited the crew of USCGC Munro for pursuing the vessel “across the high seas and through treacherous storms.” The Coast Guard cutter had been shadowing the Marinera for weeks as it fled across the Atlantic.
The UK Ministry of Defence confirmed it provided “enabling support” to the operation, including basing, assistance from RFA Tideforce, and aerial surveillance. At least 12 US C-17 transport aircraft landed at British airbases between January 3-5 ahead of the operation, CNN reported.
The US also seized a second tanker, the M/T Sophia, in a separate operation in the Caribbean the same day. Both vessels were either last docked in Venezuela or en route to it, Noem stated.
The Bella 1 was originally sanctioned in June 2024 for allegedly transporting Iranian oil on behalf of Hezbollah, the Yemeni Houthis, and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The seizures mark the third and fourth tankers captured since President Donald Trump announced a blockade of sanctioned oil shipments to and from Venezuela in December. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated the “blockade of sanctioned and illicit Venezuelan oil remains in FULL EFFECT — anywhere in the world.”
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