Washington claims that the tanker is a component of a clandestine fleet transporting oil for nations like Venezuela, Russia, and Iran, in breach of U.S. sanctions. The ship was captured even though it was under the protection of the Russian Navy.
Previously, the vessel had successfully evaded a boarding attempt last month in the vicinity of oil-rich Venezuela. This follows a U.S. operation on Saturday that ousted the country’s authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro, who is a close ally of Russia.
“The vessel was taken in the North Atlantic under a warrant from a U.S. federal court,” U.S. European Command stated on social media platform X, while Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth noted that the American embargo on Venezuelan oil is fully operational “anywhere in the world.”
The Russian Transport Ministry condemned the seizure, asserting that “freedom of navigation applies in high seas.”
Russia’s Foreign Ministry called on the U.S. to expedite the return of the Russian crew members from the tanker, but White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt informed reporters that they might be brought to the U.S. for legal action.
The ship, which was previously named Bella-1, recently updated its registration to Russia and is now called Marinera; the crew is reported to have painted a Russian flag on it.
Leavitt indicated that the U.S. regards the vessel as stateless.
Additionally, the U.S. military announced the capture of a second sanctioned tanker in the Caribbean, bringing the total number of vessels seized by Washington since the previous month to four.
Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem shared on X that both tankers “were either last docked in Venezuela or on their way to it,” alongside a video showing armed U.S. forces descending onto an unidentified ship via helicopter.
This operation in the North Atlantic occurred even as Russia supposedly deployed a submarine and other naval resources to escort the vessel.
The tanker was previously en route to Venezuela before evading the U.S. blockade and has been under American sanctions since 2024 due to alleged connections with Iran and Hezbollah.
Recently, U.S. special forces captured Maduro and his wife in Caracas and transported them to New York to face drug charges.
In response, Trump has declared that the U.S. will manage Venezuela and that American companies will oversee its vital oil sector.
Brian Finucane from the International Crisis Group remarked that such seizures of ships align with the “overarching theme” regarding Venezuela and the current administration’s foreign policy approach, which he describes as “taking the oil” in a very literal sense.
After facing backlash from legislators, Secretary of State Marco Rubio asserted that the U.S. does have a strategy for Venezuela, emphasizing that the White House is “not just winging it.”
In Caracas, following several days of closed shops and sporadic public transportation, the streets were bustling again on Wednesday with pedestrians, vendors, vehicles, and motorcycles.
On Tuesday, Trump stated that between 30 and 50 million barrels of Venezuelan crude would be sent to U.S. ports, suggesting that the revenue—potentially exceeding $2 billion at current market rates—would be under his personal oversight.
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright added on Wednesday that the U.S. would indefinitely control Venezuelan oil sales, while the state oil company PDVSA confirmed that they were engaged in negotiations for crude sales to the United States.
Leavitt affirmed that revenues from Venezuelan crude sales would be allocated to U.S.-controlled accounts and subsequently “dispersed for the benefit of both the American and Venezuelan people.”
Venezuela’s interim president Delcy Rodríguez, a long-time ally of Maduro, has promised to cooperate with the United States amid concerns that Trump may pursue broader regime change, with Leavitt suggesting that Venezuela’s future decisions would now be “dictated” by Washington.
