US special forces have seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker with links to Venezuela in the North Atlantic after weeks of pursuit, drawing a sharp rebuke from Moscow.
The US military’s European Command said the oil tanker Marinera, originally known as Bella-1, was commandeered on Wednesday “for violations of US sanctions”, reports Al Jazeera.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote on social media: “The blockade of sanctioned and illicit Venezuelan oil remains in FULL EFFECT – anywhere in the world.”
The operation came after the Marinera slipped through a US maritime “blockade” of sanctioned tankers going to and from Venezuela and rebuffed US Coast Guard efforts to board it.
American officials said the vessel was part of a “shadow fleet” involved in transporting oil for Venezuela, Russia and Iran in violation of US sanctions.
According to Russian state broadcaster RT, US forces boarded the tanker from a helicopter and published an image showing the aircraft hovering near the ship.
RT cited an unnamed source claiming a US Coast Guard vessel had been following the tanker and that a previous seizure attempt was made during a storm.
US forces have been pursuing the Marinera since last month, coinciding with preparations for the US military operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, carried out on Saturday.
Russia condemned the seizure, calling it unlawful. In a statement, the Russian Transport Ministry said it violated maritime law.
“In accordance with the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, freedom of navigation applies in the high seas, and no state has the right to use force against vessels duly registered in the jurisdictions of other states,” it said.
The ministry added that the tanker, which received “temporary permission” to sail under the Russian flag on 24 December, lost contact after US naval forces boarded it “in the open sea, beyond the territorial waters of any state”.
MarineTraffic data showed the vessel approaching Iceland’s exclusive economic zone at the time.
According to Reuters, a Russian submarine and warship were nearby, though no confrontation occurred.
Russian journalist Dmitry Medvedenko described the pursuit as a “cat-and-mouse game”, while the Russian Foreign Ministry said the US and NATO response was “clearly disproportionate to its peaceful status”.
The ship was sanctioned by the US in 2024 over alleged oil smuggling linked to Hezbollah.
Separately, US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said a second vessel, the M Sophia, was seized in international waters near the Caribbean.
According to Reuters, the Panama-flagged supertanker had transported Venezuelan oil to China with its transponder switched off. Noem said both vessels were “either last docked in Venezuela or en route to it”.
In two predawn operations today, the Coast Guard conducted back-to-back meticulously coordinated boarding of two “ghost fleet” tanker ships— one in the North Atlantic Sea and one in international waters near the Caribbean. Both vessels —the Motor Tanker Bella I and the Motor… pic.twitter.com/EZlHEtcufX
— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) January 7, 2026
Reporting from Washington, DC, Al Jazeera’s Kimberly Halkett said the seizures are a “significant” development.
“It’s clear that there is an operation under way – a number of vessels that not only have been [pursued] but have now been apprehended,” Halkett said.
