U.S. Forces Seize Fleeing Russian-Flagged Oil Tanker In North Atlantic (Updated)
U.S. forces have secured the runaway Russian-flagged oil tanker Marinera, a U.S. official has confirmed to TWZ. Elements of the U.S. Army’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment and other American aviation assets had previously deployed to the United Kingdom ahead of an apparent effort to board the ship. Readers can get caught up on the pursuit with our latest coverage here.
Personnel from the U.S. military and the U.S. Coast Guard carried out the boarding operation, according to reports from Reuters and The Wall Street Journal. Russian news outlet RT had earlier released imagery said to have been taken from the deck of the Marinera showing an MH-6 Little Bird helicopter, a type operated by the 160th SOAR, approaching the ship.
In the past several hours, open source flight tracking had also shown a large number of aircraft from bases in the United Kingdom heading north toward where the ship is located.
Ship tracking data available online had also shown the Marinera, which had been shadowed by a wide range of aviation assets and a U.S. Coast Guard cutter for weeks now, making a sharp turn to the south in the direction of the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Known until recently as the Bella-1 before it was re-registered and the crew painted a Russian flag on it, the Marinera is part of a so-called shadow fleet. These vessels are accused of transporting oil for Russia, Iran, and Venezuela in violation of sanctions imposed by the United States and other countries. On December 20, the Coast Guard had previously attempted to board the ship, which is not carrying any oil at present, as it headed toward Venezuela. However, the crew refused to allow it, and the ship began sailing back toward Europe. Reports earlier this week said that new U.S. plans to interdict the boat had subsequently been drawn up, tied to the aforementioned deployment of special operations forces and other assets to the United Kingdom.
The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that the Russian military had sent a submarine and other naval assets to escort the Marinera. Reuters has reported that Russian Navy vessels were in the vicinity when the boarding operation occurred.
Where the Marinera may now be headed and what its ultimate fate may be remains to be seen.
TWZ will continue to update this story as it develops.
Update: 9:14 AM Eastern –
U.S. European Command released a statement about the seizure on X.
It has been pointed out that Little Birds are not capable of being refueled in flight and likely would not have had the range to reach the tanker from bases on land in the region. It is more likely that any MH-6s involved in this operation launched from a ship closer by. The 160th SOAR is known to train to operate its Little Birds from Coast Guard cutters. Night Stalker helicopters also have a long history of flying from U.S. Navy ships, including recently during the operation to capture Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro.
We have reached out to the Pentagon and U.S. Coast Guard for more details and will update this story with any pertinent information provided.
Update: 9:32 AM Eastern –
The U.K. Defense Ministry (MoD) provided us with a statement about its aircraft observed over the North Atlantic.
“Quick Reaction Alert Typhoon fighter aircraft were launched on 6 Jan from RAF Lossiemouth…after unidentified aircraft were tracked flying towards UK airspace. The aircraft remained outside of our area of interest (UK FIR) and no intercept took place. The launch of RAF QRA aircraft from RAF Lossiemouth and supporting AAR Voyager from RAF Brize Norton was not associated with any form of maritime surveillance operations.”
Update: 9:36 AM Eastern –
War Secretary Pete Hegseth weighed in on the seizure, saying that “the blockade of sanctioned and illicit Venezuelan oil remains in FULL EFFECT – anywhere in the world.” The Marinera, however, never arrived in port and was not carrying any fuel.
Meanwhile, as the seizure of the Marinera was taking place, the U.S. also boarded another sanctioned oil tanker in the Caribbean, according to U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM).
“In a pre-dawn action this morning, the Department of War, in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security, apprehended a stateless, sanctioned dark fleet motor tanker without incident,” SOUTHCOM announced on X. “The interdicted vessel, M/T Sophia, was operating in international waters and conducting illicit activities in the Caribbean Sea. The U.S. Coast Guard is escorting M/T Sophia to the U.S. for final disposition. Through Operation Southern Spear, the Department of War is unwavering in its mission to crush illicit activity in the Western Hemisphere. We will defend our Homeland and restore security and strength across the Americas.”
Officials in the U.K. would likely have had to sign off on this operation, The Times reported.
British aviation journalist Gareth Jennings notes that the Little Birds can be equipped with a 62-gallon auxiliary fuel tank, giving them an operating radius of about 670 kilometers (about 416 miles).
There are several ways Little Birds can take part in a mission like this, as our editor-in-chief Tyler Rogoway notes.
Update: 9:57 AM Eastern –
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem also released a statement, confirming that the Coast Guard Legend class cutter trailing the Marinera we wrote about yesterday was the Munro.
“One of these tankers, Motor Tanker Bella I, has been trying to evade the Coast Guard for weeks, even changing its flag and painting a new name on the hull while being pursued, in a desperate and failed attempt to escape justice,” Noem stated on X. “The heroic crew of the USCGC Munro pursued this vessel across the high seas and through treacherous storms— keeping diligent watch, and protecting our country with the determination and patriotism that make Americans proud. These brave men and women deserve our nation’s thanks for their selfless devotion to duty.”
Update: 10:08 AM Eastern –
The Russian Ministry of Transport stated that the U.S boarding operation against the Marinera violated international law.
“In accordance with the norms of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, a regime of freedom of navigation operates in the waters of the high seas, and no state has the right to use force against ships properly registered in the jurisdictions of other states,” the message said.
“According to the department, the ship received a temporary permit to sail under the Russian state flag on December 24th,” the official Russian RIA Novosti media outlet reported on Telegram. The vessel was boarded at 3 p.m. local time (7 a.m. Eastern).
Update: 10:39 AM Eastern –
Flight tracking data claims to show that U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) AC-130J Ghostrider gunships were overhead during the Marinera operation. While we can’t independently confirm this, TWZ has written about the value Ghostriders can bring to this kind of maritime interdiction operation, which you can read about here.
As we previously reported, these aircraft arrived at RAF Mildenhall on Sunday. Local photographer Andrew McKelvey shared some photos of one of those Ghostriders, ARSON17, taking off from Mildenhall at about 9:45 a.m. local time (4:45 a.m. Eastern). AFSOC declined comment.
Update: 11:17 AM Eastern –
As we have previously noted, U.S. President Donald Trump has made control over Venezuelan oil a centerpiece of operations in the Caribbean that resulted in the capture of Maduro. This includes the ongoing blockade of oil tankers and the planned takeover of Venezuela’s oil infrastructure.
In a post on his Truth Social site yesterday, Trump explained that Venezuela will be turning over tens of millions of barrels of oil to the U.S. to sell.
“I am pleased to announce that the Interim Authorities in Venezuela will be turning over between 30 and 50 MILLION Barrels of High Quality, Sanctioned Oil, to the United States of America,” Trump proclaimed on Truth Social. “This Oil will be sold at its Market Price, and that money will be controlled by me, as President of the United States of America, to ensure it is used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States! I have asked Energy Secretary Chris Wright to execute this plan, immediately. It will be taken by storage ships, and brought directly to unloading docks in the United States.”
Update: 12:04 AM Eastern –
The rhetoric from Moscow about the Marinera operation is ramping up.
“We need to attack with torpedoes and sink a couple of American patrol boats,” Alexei Zhuravlev, the first deputy head of the State Duma’s Defense Committee, said today. “The U.S. needs a military response to the Marinera situation. The U.S., which is enjoying a kind of euphoria of impunity after the special operation in Venezuela, can only be stopped now with a slap in the face like this.”
Update: 12:42 PM Eastern –
During her afternoon briefing, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked several questions about the seizure of the Marinera, as well as the Sophia. She was also queried about whether she had any information about the Russian submarine that The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday said was deployed to escort the ship. Below are some of those interactions.
Q: Russia specifically asked the United States not to seize that tanker. Does this action risk a larger conflict with Russia?
A: The vessel this morning was seized in the North Atlantic pursuant to a warrant issued by a U.S. Federal Court after being tracked, and this was a Venezuelan shadow fleet vessel that has transported sanctioned oil. And the United States of America under this president is not going to tolerate that. I would also just add the vessel had a judicial seizure order and the crew, so that means the crew is now subject to prosecution for any applicable violation of federal law, and they will be brought to the United States for such prosecution.
Q: Are you concerned about increasing tensions with Russia because of the tanker?
A: “…with respect to these ships seizures, that means enforcing the embargo against all Dark Fleet vessels that are illegally transporting oil and only legitimate commerce. To answer your question … that’s the policy of this administration, and he’s not afraid to implement it.
Q: Was there any engagement with that submarine … and what is the deconfliction on the Russian use ahead of that type of warning package?
A: Again, this was a Venezuelan shadow fleet vessel that has transported sanctioned oil. The vessel was deemed stateless after flying a false flag, and it had a judicial seizure order, and that’s why the crew will be subject to prosecution.
Update: 12:57 PM Eastern –
The U.K. “provided enabling support to the United States at their request to interdict the vessel,” according to the MoD, which is using the ship’s previous name to reference it.
“U.K. armed forces provided pre-planned operational support, including basing, to U.S. military assets interdicting the Bella 1 between the U.K. and Iceland following a U.S. request for assistance,” the MoD said in a statement. “RFA Tideforce is providing support for U.S. forces pursuing and interdicting the Bella 1, while the RAF provided surveillance support from the air.”
“This ship, with a nefarious history, is part of a Russian-Iranian axis of sanctions evasion which is fuelling terrorism, conflict, and misery from the Middle East to Ukraine,” Defense Secretary John Healey said. “The UK will continue to step up our action against shadow fleet activity to protect our national security, our economy, and global stability – making Britain secure at home and strong abroad.”
“Deterring and disrupting the Russian shadow fleet is a priority for the U.K.,” MoD added. “To date, we have imposed sanctions on 520 Russian shadow fleet vessels. This is working. For example, Russia’s critical oil revenues are down 27% compared to October 2024, the lowest since the start of the war in Ukraine.”
Update: 1:57 PM Eastern –
Speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill in between Congressional briefings on Venezuela, Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed that the Venezuelans want the oil from the seized tanker Sophia to be part of the aforementioned deal Trump stated on Truth Social.
This is a developing story. Stay with TWZ for updates.
Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com
