On Wednesday, Russia’s Foreign Ministry announced that two Russian crew members from an oil tanker, which was captured by the United States earlier this month, have been freed and are returning home.

Earlier this month, U.S. forces took control of the Russian-flagged vessel Marinera in the North Atlantic, claiming it was affiliated with a so-called “shadow fleet” involved in transporting oil from nations such as Venezuela, Russia, and Iran, which violates U.S. sanctions.

U.S. officials had previously indicated that the crew of the Marinera might face legal action in the United States, a situation that Russia described as “categorically unacceptable.”

According to Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, “Two Russian sailors have been freed and are heading back to Russia,” she stated on Wednesday to the state-run RIA Novosti news agency.

The status of the remaining crew members of the Marinera remains uncertain.

Initially, Russia criticized the seizure of the vessel as “maritime piracy,” though it later acknowledged that U.S. officials had agreed to the release of the two detained Russian crew members.

The ship, originally named Bella 1, was sanctioned by Washington in 2024.

Reporting contributed by AFP.