The US Army has announced the seizure of two oil tankers, one in the Caribbean Sea and the other in the North Atlantic.
The United States military commandeered a Russian-flagged oil tanker with links to Venezuela in the North Atlantic after a weeks-long pursuit.
The US Army’s European Command (EUCOM) said on X that it seized the Marinera oil tanker, originally known as the Bella-1,“for violations of US sanctions.”
It added that the vessel was seized in the North Atlantic “pursuant to a warrant issued by a US federal court after being tracked by USCGC Munro.”
US European Command stated that the seizure of the vessel supports US President Donald Trump’s “Proclamation targeting sanctioned vessels that threaten the security and stability of the Western Hemisphere.”
“The operation was executed by DHS components with support from @DeptofWar, showcasing a whole-of-government approach to protect the homeland.”
The US Army’s European Command (EUCOM)
The operation came after the Marinera slipped through a US maritime “blockade” of sanctioned tankers going to and from Venezuela and rebuffed US Coast Guard efforts to board it.
American officials have said that the tanker is part of a so-called shadow fleet that has carried oil for countries such as Venezuela, Russia, and Iran in violation of US sanctions.
Separately, US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said that a second vessel was seized by American forces “in international waters near the Caribbean.” The vessel was the Panama-flagged supertanker M Sophia, which is under US sanctions.
According to the US Southern Command, the vessel, a “stateless, sanctioned dark fleet motor tanker” was apprehended in a pre-dawn operation.
It stated that the interdicted vessel, M/T Sophia, was operating in international waters and conducting “illicit activities” in the Caribbean Sea. “The US Coast Guard is escorting M/T Sophia to the US for final disposition,” it added.
A news agency reported that the tanker had departed from Venezuelan waters this month as part of a fleet of ships carrying Venezuelan oil to China in “dark mode”, or with its transponder off, according to shipping data and sources.
In a social media post, Noem said that both the M Sophia and the Marinera were “either last docked in Venezuela or en route to it.”
Today’s seizure was the latest in US President Donald Trump’s crackdown on sanctioned oil tankers linked to Venezuela.
US Defence Secretary, Pete Hegsethposted on X that the blockade of “sanctioned and illicit Venezuelan oil remains in FULL EFFECT — anywhere in the world.”
Russia Slams US Seizure
In a statement, the Russian Transport Ministry said the US seizure was a violation of maritime law.
It said in the statement that in accordance with the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, freedom of navigation applies in the high seas, and no state has the right to use force against vessels duly registered in the jurisdictions of other states.
The ministry added that contact with the vessel, Marinera, which it said received “temporary permission” to sail under the Russia flag on December 24, had been lost after US naval forces boarded it “in the open sea, beyond the territorial waters of any state.”
Tracking data from MarineTraffic had shown the tanker nearing Iceland’s exclusive economic zone on Wednesday before it was seized.
The ship was sanctioned by the US in 2024 for allegedly smuggling cargo for a company linked to the Lebanese group Hezbollah.
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