U.S. seizes Russian-flagged oil tanker with ties to Venezuela

"After a two week chase, U.S. forces have seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker in the north Atlantic between Iceland and Britain. The tanker was originally bound for Venezuela, but changed course to avoid the U.S. ships, setting off the extended drama at sea. The U.S. action is part of a military pressure campaign that includes boarding tankers that are on a U.S. sanctions list. The campaign began a month ago, but the U.S. seized Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro and his wife."

"When the confrontation at sea began last month, the tanker was called the Bella-1 and was on the U.S. sanctions list, part of the so-called "ghost fleet" of ships involved in the transport of oil from countries such as Venezuela, Russia and Iran. The Bella-1 refused to halt and reversed course, heading from the Caribbean and going across the Atlantic. On the way it renamed itself the Marinera and re-flagged itself as a Russian ship."

"In a related development, a second tanker, the Sophia, was also intercepted in or near the Caribbean Sea. U.S. Southern Command called the ship "a stateless, sanctioned dark fleet motor tanker." Sophia "was operating in international waters and conducting illicit activities," the military said, adding that the U.S. Coast Guard is now escorting the ship to the U.S. In a post on X, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem stated, "In two predawn operations today, the Coast Guard conducted back-to-back meticulously coordinated boarding o"

U.S. forces seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker in the North Atlantic between Iceland and Britain after a two-week chase. The vessel had been bound for Venezuela, reversed course to avoid U.S. ships, crossed the Atlantic, renamed itself Marinera, and re-flagged as Russian; analysts suggest it may have been headed to a Russian Arctic port. The seizure is part of a month-long U.S. military campaign targeting tankers on a sanctions list, often called the 'ghost fleet.' A second tanker, the Sophia, was intercepted near the Caribbean and is being escorted to the United States by the Coast Guard.

Read at www.npr.org