The United States plans to attempt to seize the oil tanker Bella 1, which Russia has placed under its jurisdiction, Hungarian portal Mandiner writes, based on a report out of CNN.
The Bella 1 oil tanker was sanctioned by the United States in 2024, which claimed it was part of a
“shadow fleet” transporting illegal oil from Venezuela.
This has now led to a major point of contention between the two superpowers.
The ship was originally headed to Venezuela, but turned back after fleeing the U.S. Coast Guard and, according to open-source shipping data, is currently sailing in the North Atlantic Ocean, near the British coast.
The ship’s crew painted a Russian flag on the ship during the pursuit and claimed that it was sailing under the protection of Russia.
Shortly thereafter, the tanker was registered in the Russian registry as the Marinera. U.S. sources said Russia had sent a submarine and other naval assets to escort the tanker, while Moscow called on Washington to stop pursuing the ship.
The Russian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday expressed concern over the situation surrounding the ship.
The United States, on the other hand, deployed P-8 reconnaissance aircraft from RAF Mildenhall in England to monitor the tanker last month, and the U.S. Southern Command signaled its readiness to take action against sanctioned ships and actors in the region. In addition, several U.S. military assets have recently been moved to the UK.
Based on available positioning data, the tanker is moving about 300 miles south of Iceland, heading towards the North Sea.
Capturing the Bella 1 would likely require special naval intervention, as the vessel will not surrender voluntarily. The operation is further complicated by the often bad weather in the North Atlantic and Russian claims of jurisdiction.
The plans to seize the tanker are linked to U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement last month that the United States was imposing a complete blockade on sanctioned oil tankers to put pressure on the regime of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who is now in custody in New YOrk after being seized by America’s elite Delta Force.
The U.S. now says it is in negotiations to purchase millions of barrels of oil from the country it previously had under sanction, during which time, the majority of Venezuelan oil had been sold to China.
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