The United States military has seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker in the North Atlantic that was pursued for days by American and other naval vessels across thousands of miles of ocean, because it was in international waters. The vessel, which goes by the name of Marinera was detained on Wednesday on suspicion of trying to bypass global efforts to strangle Venezuelan oil exports. The high-pressure maneuver represents a significant escalation in the United States’ drive to cut off energy exports from the South American nation.
A High-Seas Capture, With Dramatic Thunder Near Iceland
The Marinera, formerly known as the Bella 1, had been taunting the United States Coast Guard since December. To avoid detection, the crew is said to have swapped out the ship’s name, painted a Russian flag on its hull and changed it so that under Russia’s maritime authority, the vessel was legally re-registered. Despite the loosened rudder and missing logs, the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Munro followed tracks made by the tanker throughout the Atlantic before eventually boarding it just off Iceland.
The operation was especially fraught because a Russian submarine and other naval ships had been seen nearby, apparently in an escort role for the tanker. There was no direct combat involved, but the special forces and law enforcement seized control of the ship in accordance with a federal court warrant, said a spokesman for U.S. European Command. Moscow has responded with fury, characterising the seizure as “piracy” and a violation of international maritime laws that accord ships on the high seas immunity if they are sailing under a national flag.
Second Tanker Seized in Caribbean
As the action in the North Atlantic was playing itself out, U.S. forces conducted a second raid near the Caribbean Sea. U.S. Southern Command boarded a tanker named the Sophia in a pre-dawn operation from which the service did not release crew information. Unlike the Marinera, the Sophia, a stateless vessel, was not flying any country’s flag at the time it was seized.
The Sophia is one of what officials refer to as the “dark fleet,” a collection of aging vessels that turn off their tracking signals and slip into and out of ports, clandestinely moving oil from sanctioned countries like Venezuela, Iran and Russia. Both ships are being escorted to American ports, where their cargo will be searched and is likely to be sold. These seizures one on top of the other make it clear that the United States is serious in its “total blockade” of Venezuelan oil, imposed to pressure Venezuela’s leadership.
The Bigger Picture: Strangling the “Dark Fleet”
The seizures are only the latest right on the heels of last week’s arrest of imprisoned Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Now, the Trump administration is racing to seize control of millions of barrels of oil that are now stuck in Venezuela or on the high seas. Pete Hegseth, the U.S. Secretary of War (FoWa), said the blockade is still “in full effect” and will be imposed on any ship, anywhere in the world, that attempts to transport illicit Venezuelan crude.
Analysts say this will not only starve Maduro’s power base of cash, but also stabilise global energy prices by returning Venezuelan oil to the market under American supervision. But the military action against a Russian-flagged ship has fueled concerns about a broader conflict. For now, the U.S. is holding fast with threats that any “ghost ship” attempting to breach the blockade will meet a similar fate as those of Marinera and Sophia.
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