The US has seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker in the Atlantic despite the reported deployment of a submarine.
The seizure of the ship, which evaded being boarded near Venezuela, was a joint operation between the Department of Homeland Security and US military personnel, the US European Command, which is responsible for the region, said in a post on X.
“The vessel was seized in the North Atlantic pursuant to a warrant issued by a US federal court,” US European Command, which oversees American forces in the region, said in a statement on X.
After the operation, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth posted that the US blockade on Venezuelan oil was in full effect “anywhere in the world.”
Moscow has slammed the US over the seizure of a Russian-flagged tanker in the North Atlantic. “In accordance with the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, freedom of navigation applies in waters on the high seas, and no state has the right to use force against vessels duly registered under the jurisdiction of other states,” Russia’s transport ministry said in a statement.
The vessel had received “temporary permission” to sail under the Russian flag on December 24, the ministry said, adding that “contact with the ship was lost” after US naval forces boarded it “in the open sea, beyond the territorial waters of any state”.
Background
Earlier, Russia sent a submarine to escort an empty oil tanker that the U.S. military had been chasing and trying to seize, according to reports by The Wall Street Journal.
The U.S. first went after this tanker, originally called the Bella 1, later renamed the Marinera, back in late December. It was heading toward Venezuela to load up on oil but ran into a partial U.S. blockade aimed at cracking down on sanctioned shipments.
US officials said the tanker is part of a shadow fleet carrying oil for countries such as Venezuela, Russia, and Iran in violation of US sanctions. Tracking data from MarineTraffic showed the tanker nearing Iceland’s exclusive economic zone on Wednesday.
The Coast Guard tried to board it in the Caribbean, claiming it was flying a bogus flag and had a seizure warrant ready. The crew refused, turned the ship around, and bolted into the Atlantic instead of docking in Venezuela.
Since then, the tanker has stayed on the move, empty and heading north across the ocean, according to tracking data.
The US kept trailing it with Coast Guard cutters, surveillance planes, and other assets, even as the ship hastily painted a Russian flag on its hull, switched its registration to Russia, and started claiming Russian protection.
Moscow formally asked Washington to back off, calling the pursuit harassment of a civilian vessel. Russia then upped the ante by dispatching a submarine along with other naval ships to escort the tanker.
Russia’s foreign ministry said earlier that it was “following with concern” the US pursuit of the tanker. “For reasons unclear to us, the Russian vessel is receiving heightened attention from the US and NATO militaries — attention that is clearly disproportionate to its peaceful status,” the ministry said.
US War Against Russian Oil
Since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Washington, the US-led Weest have enforced several steps to reduce Russia’s oil revenues.
In December 2022, for instance, the US managed to set a $60/barrel cap on Russian seaborne crude oil, which was later extended to petroleum products. Following this, American allies prohibited their firms from providing maritime services, like shipping, insurance, finance, or brokering, unless the oil was purchased at or below the cap.
However, the move failed to achieve its intended impact beyond initial discomfort because it forced Russia to offer steep discounts to buyers in Asia.
In fact, two of the biggest Asian economies and close confidantes of Russia—India and China—swiftly overtook the EU as Russia’s top oil users.
A record 109 million tonnes of Russian crude was purchased by China last year, accounting for nearly 20% of all energy imports. Meanwhile, India imported 88 million tonnes of Russian oil.
Despite being sanctioned and subject to a price cap, Russia has managed to keep its oil export channels running, even if it has not been able to get the biggest bang for its buck.
Notably, the cornerstone of evasion of restrictions on its oil imports is Russia’s “shadow fleet”—a network of hundreds of aging, anonymously owned tankers operating outside Western oversight. Russia is currently estimated to have about 1,000 such vessels, many of them over 15 years old, poorly maintained, and flagged in non-coalition countries.
These tankers transport oil without relying on G7/EU/Australia services, allowing sales above the price cap.
This arrangement has been working due to opaque ownership via shell companies and the use of non-Western insurance. Additionally, Russia facilitates ship-to-ship (STS) transfers in international waters to obscure origins and actively engages in spoofing AIS (Automatic Identification System) and signal manipulation.
In January 2025, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated an unprecedented 183 vessels, mostly oil tankers in the shadow fleet, along with two major Russian oil producers, Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas.
Additionally, dozens of opaque oil traders, oilfield service providers, Russian energy executives, and two Russia-based maritime insurers (Ingosstrakh and Alfastrakhovanie) provide non-Western coverage were also targeted.
Things further took a dramatic turn in October 2025 when the US sanctioned Russia’s two largest producers, Rosneft and Lukoil.
These sanctions came as Trump grew frustrated over stalled negotiations for a truce in Ukraine. “Putin’s refusal to end this senseless war,” said US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, emphasising that the sanctions were necessary. He referred to the two companies as the Kremlin’s “war machines.”
The move helped freeze the assets of the two companies, block transactions between them and other contractors, and threaten secondary sanctions on buyers and banks, and caused immediate price drops.
In addition, the US President Donald Trump has also used immense diplomatic pressure to wean India and China off dependence on Russian oil imports.
Despite these attacks on companies that apparently “oil” the Russian machine, Putin has refused to end the war. On the contrary, Moscow has intensified attacks on Ukraine amid emerging evidence that the United States wants to end the war as soon as possible, even if that means coercing Ukraine to give up the occupied territory.
Notably, Russian Urals crude prices, Russia’s flagship export grade, registered historic lows in December 2025, falling to about $34–49 per barrel. This fall has been attributed to tighter sanctions on shadow-fleet vessels, owners, and companies, including Rosneft and Lukoil.
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- With Inouts from © Agence France-Presse
