The United States has been pursuing the oil tanker, previously known as Bella 1, since it circumvented a partial blockade of Venezuela and thwarted a U.S. Coast Guard attempt to board it at the end of last month.
The U.S. conducted an operation to seize a Venezuela-linked oil tanker in the North Atlantic after a weeks-long pursuit.
"The vessel was detained in the North Atlantic under a warrant issued by a U.S. federal court after it was tracked by the U.S. Coast Guard ship Monroe," the U.S. European Command said in a statement on social media platform X.
The capture of the tanker was confirmed by the Russian Ministry of Transport, which stated that contact with the vessel had been lost. The ministry noted that the actions of the U.S. Navy violate the UN Convention.
"According to the norms of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, freedom of navigation applies in the waters of the open sea, and no state has the right to use force against vessels duly registered in the jurisdictions of other states," the statement said.
According to U.S. media reports, Russia sent a submarine to escort the empty oil tanker that U.S. military forces had been attempting to seize for several weeks.
The United States has been pursuing the oil tanker, previously known as Bella 1, since it circumvented a partial blockade of Venezuela and thwarted a U.S. Coast Guard attempt to board it at the end of last month.
U.S. officials stated that the tanker is part of a shadow fleet transporting oil for countries such as Venezuela, Russia, and Iran, in violation of U.S. sanctions.
Tracking data from MarineTraffic showed that on Wednesday, the tanker approached the exclusive economic zone of Iceland.
Russia sent a "submarine and other naval assets" to escort the tanker, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing unnamed U.S. officials.
CBS News reported that two U.S. officials confirmed, "that Russia sent a submarine and other Russian naval vessels as an escort."
On Tuesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry stated that it is "concerned" about the U.S. pursuit of the tanker. Prior to reports of the escort, the ministry informed state media that the vessel is sailing under the Russian flag and is far from the U.S. coast.
"For reasons unclear to us, the Russian vessel is attracting increased attention from the U.S. and NATO militaries, attention that is clearly disproportionate to its peaceful status," the ministry said.
Since being pursued by the U.S. Coast Guard, the vessel has changed its registration to Russian, renamed itself to "Marinera," and the crew reportedly painted the Russian flag on it last month.
These events are the latest in U.S. President Donald Trump's crackdown on oil tankers going to and from Venezuela in circumvention of sanctions.
The oil tanker, which is being guarded by Russia, was heading to Venezuela but was not carrying cargo before it managed to evade the U.S. blockade.
It has been under U.S. sanctions since 2024 due to alleged ties to Iran and Hezbollah.
Second Tanker Captured
U.S. military forces also announced the capture of a sanctioned tanker in the Caribbean; this is the second vessel seized by U.S. forces on Wednesday.
U.S. servicemen "detained the sanctioned tanker belonging to a stateless 'shadow fleet' without incident. The detained vessel, the tanker Sofia, was operating in international waters and engaging in illegal activities in the Caribbean," the U.S. Southern Command, which is responsible for the area, stated.
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