Khaberni - After a chase that lasted more than two weeks across the Atlantic Ocean, the United States announced the seizure of an oil tanker flying the Russian flag with connections to Venezuela.
The US Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of War stated today, Wednesday, that the seizure of the vessel "MV Bella 1" was due to its violation of US sanctions.
The US Coast Guard vessel "USCGC Munro" had detected it in the North Atlantic under a search warrant issued by a US federal court, officials said.
Meanwhile, US War Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed in a post on his X account that "the embargo on Venezuelan oil, which is under sanctions and illegal, is still fully effective anywhere in the world."
Russian submarine and warship
Russia had sent a submarine and a warship to the vicinity of the site where the tanker was located, near Iceland's exclusive economic zone.
While two American officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that the operation, which could escalate tensions with Moscow, "was carried out by the US Coast Guard and military," according to what Reuters reported.
Russian military ships
They added that Russian military ships, including a submarine, were in the general area of the operation near Iceland.
However, it was not clear how close these ships were to the operation, which took place near Iceland.
On the other hand, Russian media reported the kidnapping of the ship "Marinera".
The tanker, previously known as "Bella-1", had managed to escape from an American maritime "siege" targeting tankers under sanctions, and resisted efforts by the US Coast Guard to board it.
It appears that this is the first time the US military has seized a ship flying the Russian flag.
It is noted that the US Coast Guard first attempted to intercept the vessel last month (December 2025), but it refused to allow boarding. Since then, the tanker has been registered under the Russian flag, renamed "Marinera", to become the latest tanker targeted by the United States since the start of the pressure campaign launched by US President Donald Trump against Venezuela.
Meanwhile, the US Coast Guard separately intercepted another tanker linked to Venezuela in Latin American waters, according to US officials.
While the United States continues to impose a "siege" at sea on vessels under sanctions coming from Venezuela.
