An oil tanker making its way to Russia and linked to both Venezuela and Hezbollah has been seized by US forces in a daring mission in the Atlantic.
The seizure of Russian-flagged oil tanker Marinera was supported by the British armed forces, the Ministry of Defence revealed, claiming the ship was also linked to the Iranian-backed terror group Hezbollah.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters the captured crew would be ‘brought to the United States for prosecution if necessary’.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters the seizing of sanctioned or stateless oil tankers out of Venezuela will continue.
‘Our military is prepared to continue this,’ Hegseth said.
‘The president when he speaks, he means it. He’s not messing around. We are an administration of action to advance our interests, and that is on full display.’
Was the UK involved in the capture?
The MoD said the supply ship RFA Tideforce and RAF surveillance aircraft assisted the US operation to seize the tanker, also known as the Bella 1.
Defence Secretary John Healey said: ‘Today our UK Armed Forces showed skill and professionalism in support of a successful US interception of the vessel Bella 1 while on its way to Russia. This action formed part of global efforts to crack down on sanctions busting.
‘This ship, with a nefarious history, is part of a Russian-Iranian axis of sanctions evasion which is fuelling terrorism, conflict, and misery from the Middle East to Ukraine.
‘The UK will continue to step up our action against shadow fleet activity to protect our national security, our economy, and global stability – making Britain secure at home and strong abroad.
‘The US is the UK’s closest defence and security partner. The depth of our defence relationship with the US is an essential part of our security, and today’s seamlessly executed operation shows just how well this works in practice.’
The MoD added the ship had initially flown a false flag and is assessed to have been involved in illegal activity linked to Hezbollah.
The US European Command, headquartered in Germany, confirmed today the seizure of the Marinera for ‘violations of US sanctions’.
It said in a statement on X: ‘The vessel was seized in the North Atlantic pursuant to a warrant issued by a US federal court after being tracked by USCGC Munro.’
This comes as part of Donald Trump’s aggressive push to dictate oil flows in America’s backyard.
Marinera is under US sanctions, and has spent at least two weeks attempting to evade a US blockade near Venezuela.
Ship-tracking data from MarineTraffic showed the tanker nearing Iceland’s exclusive economic zone today.
It holds such importance to the Kremlin that it deployed a submarine and other vessels to escort it across the Atlantic.
The ship began its journey in Iran and was bound for Venezuela to pick up oil, part of the so-called shadow fleet that moves oil for Russia, Iran and Venezuela despite mounting US and allied sanctions.
After it left the Caribbean, its name was changed from Bella-1 to Marinera, and it switched from a Guyana to a Russian flag.
Every vessel must fly a flag, and incorrect flagging can lead to legal issues. It also means that the country has jurisdiction over it and its crew in terms of diplomatic protection.
Further data from TankerTraffic shows the vessel making a sudden turn southbound, also slowing down.
The incident follows a disputed boarding attempt in late December. The US Coast Guard tried to intercept Bella-1 near Venezuela on December 21, but its crew refused to allow personnel aboard.
In the days that followed the ship changed its identity and the crew painted a Russian tricolour on the hull.
By January 1, it had been officially renamed to Marinera and listed in the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping.
RAF planes are understood to have been involved in the US operation and British airbases were used as the launchpad for the mission to try to board the vessel.
The Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said the Bella 1 vessel has ‘a pretty nefarious history’.
Speaking to Matt Chorley on BBC Radio 5Live, she called the mission successful and said ‘everything was done in full compliance with international law’.
‘We provided enabling support to the United States and that involved the use of a Royal Auxiliary fleet vessel called ‘Tide Force’ that essentially provides fuel to vessels at sea and also the RAF provided some air surveillance.
‘It’s part of a Russia/Iran sanctions evasion access and we know that Iran has been seeking to sell oil, against the sanctions that are in place and they use the proceeds from selling that oil that is transported on these shadow vessels to fund and fuel terrorism and fuel conflict and misery from the Middle East to Ukraine.’
The US seized another shadow fleet tanker Sophia in the Caribbean Sea in the early hours of this morning, with authorities saying that it was carrying oil from Venezuela.
Responding to the success of the operations, US defence secretary Pete Hegseth said that the US blockade of sanctioned Venezuelan oil is in effect ‘anywhere in the world.’
‘The blockade of sanctioned and illicit Venezuelan oil remains in FULL EFFECT – anywhere in the world,’ he wrote on X.
The move comes just days after US special forces swooped into Caracas before a dawn on Saturday in a deadly raid to abduct Nicolas Maduro and take him to the US.
The US military turned him over to federal authorities for prosecution on charges involving alleged drug trafficking.
Top Venezuelan officials have called Maduro’s capture a kidnapping and have accused the US of trying to steal the country’s vast oil reserves, estimated to be the largest in the world.
In turn, Trump and top US officials have accused Venezuela of stealing US oil, in an apparent reference to the country’s nationalization of its energy sector in several waves over the past half-century.
