{"id":4178,"date":"2026-01-09T09:46:39","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T09:46:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/badvibes.live\/?p=4178"},"modified":"2026-01-09T09:46:39","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T09:46:39","slug":"former-raf-chief-says-trump-has-called-putins-bluff-over-tanker-seizure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/badvibes.live\/?p=4178","title":{"rendered":"Former RAF chief says Trump has called Putin\u2019s bluff over tanker seizure"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A \u2018Tom Clancy-esque\u2019 operation led to the\u00a0dramatic\u00a0seizure of an oil tanker linked to\u00a0Russia<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Venezuela<\/a>\u00a0by\u00a0US<\/a>\u00a0forces in the\u00a0Atlantic, according to a former British Air Vice-Marshal.<\/p>\n

Sean Bell<\/a>\u00a0said\u00a0that\u00a0Donald Trump<\/a>\u2019s administration had\u00a0essentially called\u00a0Russia\u2019s bluff over its shadow fleet\u00a0by\u00a0completing\u00a0the\u00a0complex, two-week\u00a0task of boarding the vessel today.<\/p>\n

US European Command confirmed that the Marinera had been seized in the\u00a0North Atlantic<\/a>\u00a0for violating\u00a0US sanctions after being tracked by\u00a0Coast Guard\u00a0ship\u00a0the USCGC\u00a0Munro.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0capture\u00a0of the\u00a0\u2018nefarious\u2019\u00a0Russia-bound vessel\u00a0was supported by\u00a0RAF<\/a>\u00a0aircraft\u00a0and came on the same day that the US seized a \u2018ghost fleet\u2019 ship\u00a0in international waters near the Caribbean.<\/p>\n

Two grainy screen grabs from Russian state broadcaster RT showed a helicopter approaching the Marinera, which had been navigating between\u00a0Iceland<\/a>\u00a0and the UK when it was taken.<\/p>\n

Originally named the M\/V Bella 1, the\u00a0ship\u00a0was\u00a0Guyanese-flagged before\u00a0switching\u00a0to\u00a0Russia\u00a0and had been pursued by the US authorities across the Atlantic, reportedly prompting the Kremlin to deploy\u00a0a submarine\u00a0to\u00a0try and\u00a0escort it.<\/p>\n

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\"A<\/div>
A helicopter was filmed approaching the M\/T Sophia before soldiers rappelled onto the vessel and moved to the bridge (Picture: KristiNoem\/SWNS)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

How did ship evade US?<\/h2>\n

The US had previously tried to\u00a0seize\u00a0the vessel\u00a0\u2014 said\u00a0to\u00a0be\u00a0part of a\u00a0Russian-Iranian\u00a0attempt to\u00a0evade\u00a0sanctions \u2014 when it was in the Caribbean last month,\u00a0apparently\u00a0en route to Venezuela.<\/p>\n

Mr\u00a0Bell,\u00a0now\u00a0a military analyst,\u00a0told\u00a0Metro<\/strong>:\u00a0\u2018It\u2019s\u00a0quite\u00a0difficult to establish facts because\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0out of sight, out of\u00a0mind\u00a0and the\u00a0military and the coastguard are\u00a0probably\u00a0not\u00a0talking to the media.<\/p>\n

\u2018From a\u00a0purely\u00a0military\u00a0perspective, the question is how does a massive ship like the Bella 1,\u00a0travelling\u00a0only at 10 knots,\u00a0manage to evade the US military for two weeks?<\/p>\n

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\u2018I\u2019ve\u00a0operated\u00a0onboard\u00a0Her Majesty\u2019s carriers,<\/a>\u00a0which are also big ships, and you\u00a0generally go\u00a0back and forth\u00a0on helicopters.\u00a0It\u00a0is\u00a0quite tricky landing a helicopter on a big ship, particularly if\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0not welcome.<\/p>\n

\u2018You need a ship on a steady\u00a0course\u00a0and\u00a0you need the wind over the deck to be\u00a0avoiding\u00a0the infrastructure, otherwise you\u00a0get\u00a0all sorts\u00a0of swirls and flurries.\u00a0Landing is a team effort in\u00a0a\u00a0helicopter.<\/p>\n

\u2018You can just drop people down on\u00a0ropes\u00a0but ships do tend to roll, particularly in the Atlantic,\u00a0and can certainly pitch quite a long way, which can make life\u00a0very\u00a0difficult\u00a0and dangerous for roping down, particularly if the\u00a0weather<\/a>\u00a0isn\u2019t\u00a0fantastic.\u2019<\/p>\n

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\"FILE<\/div>
The Marinera tanker shown in the Singapore Strait before it was seized by the US with support from the UK in the Atlantic (Picture: Hakon Rimmereid via Reuters)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018Flags of convenience\u2019<\/h2>\n

The former\u00a0fast jet\u00a0pilot\u00a0<\/a>highlighted that the ship had\u00a0reflagged from Guyanese\u00a0to Russian, possibly in an attempt to gain protection.<\/p>\n

\u2018We know that the Russians have\u00a0loaned\u00a0billions of dollars to Venezuela, to enable them to buy Russian military kit,\u2019\u00a0he\u00a0said.<\/p>\n

\u2018In\u00a0return, Venezuela was due to\u00a0provide oil to Russia. We\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0know, but that might explain why\u00a0the\u00a0Russians\u00a0tried to take oil from Venezuela.<\/p>\n

\u2018What is clear is that this two-week,\u00a0Tom Clancy-esque\u00a0operation has finally succeeded not far off the coast of our shores.\u2019<\/p>\n

The action is part of an assertive American approach overseas, including the\u00a0capture of Venezuelan president\u00a0Nicol\u00e1s\u00a0Maduro<\/a>\u00a0on Saturday\u00a0following the US\u00a0targeting\u00a0of \u2018narco-terrorists\u2019\u00a0operating\u00a0out of the country.<\/p>\n

Mr Bell said: \u2018Russia has been\u00a0operating\u00a0a shadow fleet, and while I\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0claim to\u00a0understand it fully, you can have a ship\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0owned by a Greek\u00a0that\u00a0sails\u00a0under an Irish flag operating for an American company.\u00a0They are called flags of convenience.<\/p>\n

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\"U.S.<\/div>
The Marinera was seized in the North Atlantic pursuant to a warrant issued by a US federal court after being tracked by USCGC Munro (Picture: US European Command)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018The Russians have\u00a0been\u00a0using\u00a0what\u2019s\u00a0called the shadow fleet for moving all sorts of things under sanction around the world,\u00a0in effect, taking the Mickey out of the international community.<\/p>\n

\u2018What\u2019s\u00a0interesting is that the US is calling their bluff; saying you\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0just suddenly paint a flag on the side of a ship and then protect it if\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0moving\u00a0sanctioned oil, we will intervene.<\/p>\n

\u2018In a way it\u2019s not dissimilar to America\u2019s threats to\u00a0Greenland\u00a0<\/a>or\u00a0going\u00a0into\u00a0Venezuela, they are feeling less constrained by international law and more focused on\u00a0dealing with the\u00a0situation as they see it.\u2019<\/p>\n

US\u00a0Defence\u00a0Secretary Pete Hegseth gave a bullish confirmation of the US operation to\u00a0intercept the two tankers.<\/p>\n

In a post on X, he said: \u2018The blockade of sanctioned and illicit Venezuelan oil remains in FULL EFFECT \u2014 anywhere in the world.\u2019<\/p>\n

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\"TAKEN<\/div>
A US military helicopter hovering over the oil tanker in the North Atlantic<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mr\u00a0Hegseth shared a similar message alongside a video of the second tanker, the M\/T Sophia, which was seized in darkness by the US\u00a0in international waters near the Caribbean.<\/p>\n

The UK Ministry of\u00a0Defence\u00a0confirmed it had supported the US seizure in the North Atlantic this afternoon.<\/p>\n

Defence\u00a0Secretary John Healey said: \u2018Today 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.<\/p>\n

\u2018This action formed part of global efforts to crack down on sanctions busting. This ship, with a nefarious history, is part of a\u00a0Russian-Iranian\u00a0axis of sanctions evasion which is\u00a0fuelling\u00a0terrorism, conflict, and misery from the Middle East to Ukraine.<\/p>\n

\u2018Nefarious history\u2019<\/h2>\n

\u2018The UK will continue to step up our action against shadow fleet activity to protect our national security, our economy, and global stability \u2013 making Britain secure at home and strong abroad.\u2019<\/p>\n

The transport secretary\u00a0confirmed that the UK provided \u2018enabling\u2019 assistance in the shape of some RAF air surveillance and\u00a0a\u00a0Royal\u00a0Auxiliary fleet vessel called\u00a0Tide\u00a0Force that\u00a0essentially\u00a0provides\u00a0fuelling.<\/p>\n

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, Heidi Alexander said:\u00a0\u2018Everything that was done was in full compliance with international law.<\/p>\n

\u2018We understand that the vessel in question had been sanctioned by the US when it sought to evade a blockade near Venezuela in December and the sanctions that the US had applied to this vessel were part of their counter Iran sanctions regime \u2013 and so really this vessel is part of what is known as the shadow fleet. It\u2019s\u00a0got a\u00a0pretty nefarious\u00a0history.\u2019<\/p>\n

Ms\u00a0Alexander added: \u2018It\u2019s 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. 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\u00a0Ukraine.<\/p>\n

\u2018So\u00a0it was an important\u00a0operation\u00a0and we provided some enabling support and that operation was executed successfully.\u2019<\/p>\n

Moscow said the tanker was only temporarily flagged to Russia and accused the US of violating international law by seizing the vessel.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  A \u2018Tom Clancy-esque\u2019 operation led to the\u00a0dramatic\u00a0seizure of an oil tanker linked to\u00a0Russia\u00a0and\u00a0Venezuela\u00a0by\u00a0US\u00a0forces in the\u00a0Atlantic, according to a former British Air Vice-Marshal. Sean Bell\u00a0said\u00a0that\u00a0Donald Trump\u2019s administration had\u00a0essentially called\u00a0Russia\u2019s bluff over its shadow fleet\u00a0by\u00a0completing\u00a0the\u00a0complex, two-week\u00a0task of boarding the vessel today. US European Command confirmed that the Marinera had been seized in the\u00a0North Atlantic\u00a0for violating\u00a0US sanctions […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4180,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4178","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t