The United States launched an operation Wednesday to seize a Russian-flagged oil tanker in the Atlantic, two U.S. officials told NBC News, following a dramatic weekslong chase on the high seas.
The ship has been secured, according to one of the U.S. officials, and the Department of Homeland Security is leading the operation with the support from the U.S. military.
The vessel, which changed its name from the Bella 1 to the Marinera, was initially pursued by the U.S. Coast Guard off Venezuela last month.
It emerged as a new flashpoint between Washington and Moscow and threatened to undermine the Trump administration’s blockade of the Latin American country. The Kremlin, a strong supporter of the Maduro regime, criticized what it said was “disproportionate” U.S. attention on the tanker.
It was one of a number of sanctioned oil tankers operating near Venezuela that have recently changed their flags to Russia.
The U.S. seized two oil tankers off the coast of Venezuela last month as part of its blockade of sanctioned oil shipments to and from the country. Trump said Tuesday that Venezuela would hand over 30 million to 50 million barrels of oil to the U.S., as its vast reserves emerged as a key pillar of his plans — and a point of tension with Russia and China.
In the wake of the stunning U.S. attack on Venezuela and capture of President Nicolás Maduro, the Marinera’s apparent efforts to evade authorities were tracked in real time by a fleet of observers and analysts. It came as the U.S. also moved military assets to the United Kingdom.
Nicolas Maduro is escorted by federal agents in Manhattan, New York City, on Monday.XNY / Star Max / GC Images via Getty Images
NBC News reported last month that the crude oil tanker had been on the U.S. sanctions list since June 2024.
Then known as the Bella 1, it is a “sanctioned dark fleet vessel that is part of Venezuela’s illegal sanctions evasion,” according to a U.S. official with knowledge of the matter. It had been “flying a false flag and under a judicial seizure order,” the official said.
As of Jan. 5 it was off the west coast of Scotland in the North Atlantic, according to data from the ship-tracking website MarineTraffic.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that it was “monitoring with concern the anomalous situation surrounding the Russian oil tanker Marinera,” in a statement carried by state news agency Tass.
“For several days now, Marinera has been followed by a U.S. Coast Guard ship, despite the fact that our vessel is located approximately 4,000 kilometers (2,485 miles) from the U.S. coastline,” the statement said.
“At present, the vessel is navigating international waters of the North Atlantic under the state flag of the Russian Federation and in full compliance with international maritime law,” it said.
“At the same time, for reasons that remain unclear to us, the Russian vessel is receiving heightened attention from U.S. and NATO military forces that is clearly disproportionate to its peaceful status,” it added.
Russian propaganda TV channel RT shared what it said was exclusive footage from aboard the tanker Tuesday night. It did not say where or when the footage was shot.
“Visibility is poor due to fog, and a U.S. Coast Guard ship is visible in the distance,” the caption accompanying the video said, adding that the ship “was the subject of an attempted hijacking in the North Atlantic,” and that American reconnaissance aircraft were monitoring the vessel.
A U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III in Virginia in Nov. 2025.Ryan Hunt / Getty Images
Flight tracking data shows that 13 Air Force C-17A Globemaster III, a large military transport aircraft, flew from U.S. Air Force bases to the U.K. between Saturday and Monday.
Flight records also show that at least one U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon aircraft, typically used for maritime patrols and surveillance, flew missions from the U.K. between Sunday and Wednesday.
The U.K. military has declined to comment on whether it’s tracking the tanker or any nearby Russian naval assets, or whether it has discussed with the U.S. any operation to seize the tanker.
But the Marinera may not be the only tanker threatening to undermine the U.S. blockade.
At least three other sanctioned oil tankers that were operating near Venezuela in recent weeks have changed their flags to Russia, according to the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping. The ships — the Malak, now renamed the Sintez; the Dianchi, now the Expander; and the Veronica, now the Galileo — had previously been sailing under the flags of Comoros and Guyana, according to MarineTraffic.
The U.S. Southern Command, which oversees military activities in Latin America and the Caribbean, said in a post on X on Tuesday that it “remains ready to support our U.S Government agency partners in standing against sanctioned vessels and actors transiting through this region.” Its services are “vigilant, agile, and postured to track vessels of interest,” it added. “When the call comes, we will be there.”
