US attempts to seize Venezuela-linked, Russian-flagged oil tanker in Atlantic
US attempts to seize Venezuela-linked, Russian-flagged oil tanker in Atlantic
M.U.H
08/01/202621
Tehran: The United States is trying to seize a Russian-flagged oil tanker after a pursuit across the Atlantic lasting more than two weeks as part of a US blockade of Venezuelan oil exports.
The seizure effort, first reported by Reuters on Wednesday, followed the tanker, originally known as the Bella-1, slipping through a US maritime blockade of sanctioned tankers in the Caribbean and rebuffing US Coast Guard efforts to board it.
This appeared to be the first time in recent memory that the US military has attempted to seize a Russian-flagged vessel.
Two US officials, who were speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Coast Guard and US military were carrying out Wednesday’s operation near Iceland.
The officials said Russian military vessels were in the general vicinity of the operation, including a Russian submarine.
The US Coast Guard first attempted to intercept the vessel last month, but it refused to be boarded. Since then, it has registered under a Russian flag and been renamed Marinera.
The interception comes days after the United States launched a military attack on Venezuela and kidnapped President Nicolás Maduro in the early hours of Saturday.
The US Coast Guard has also intercepted another Venezuela-linked tanker in Latin American waters, US officials told Reuters, as the US continues enforcing its blockade of sanctioned vessels from Venezuela.
Sources told Reuters that the vessel was a Panama-flagged supertanker, the M Sophia, which is subject to sanctions.
