Russia has deployed a submarine and other naval assets to escort an aging oil tanker, formerly known as Bella 1 and now renamed Marinera, that U.S. forces attempted to seize after it evaded enforcement actions near Venezuela, according to a Wall Street Journal report citing U.S. officials.
The empty, rusting vessel failed to load oil in Venezuela after more than two weeks of attempts.
In December, its crew repelled a U.S. boarding attempt in the Caribbean and fled into the Atlantic, where they painted a Russian flag on the hull and registered the ship in Russia without standard inspections, experts said.
Russia’s action reflects concerns over U.S. seizures of vessels transporting its sanctioned oil, part of a “shadow fleet” exceeding 1,000 tankers with obscure ownership and lacking Western insurance.
Three U.S. officials told the Journal that Russia requested Washington cease pursuit.
The Russian Foreign Ministry stated it was monitoring the situation “with concern,” per state agency RIA.
Russian state media RT released video from the tanker’s deck showing a U.S. Coast Guard cutter trailing it, describing the vessel as bound for Murmansk with “clear civilian status.”
U.S. Southern Command posted on social media that it was ready to act against “sanctioned vessels and actors” in the region.
The tanker, positioned about 300 miles south of Iceland heading toward the North Sea per AIS data, was U.S.-sanctioned for transporting alleged black-market Iranian oil linked to designated groups.
It was deemed stateless under a seizure order at the pursuit’s start.
Legal experts noted the Russian registration offers flag-state protection under international law, potentially complicating U.S. actions, though prior stateless status may apply.
The incident follows U.S. seizures including the Skipper in early December—the first Venezuelan oil cargo interdiction—and the Centuries, amid efforts to disrupt illicit shipments from Venezuela, Iran, and Russia.
Actions escalated after President Donald Trump ordered a blockade of sanctioned tankers around Venezuela in mid-December.
