The United States has seized the oil tanker Marinera in the North Atlantic, the US military command EUCOM (U.S. European Command) announced on Wednesday.
Hours later, Britain confirmed that the Royal Air Force (RAF) had participated in the operation.
"Today, British military personnel demonstrated skill and professionalism in supporting the successful US operation against the ship heading towards Russia," announced British Defence Secretary John Healey, continuing:
“The ship has a sinister background; it is part of Russian-Iranian cooperation to avoid sanctions and to support terrorism, conflict and misery from the Middle East to Ukraine.”
The Russian Ministry of Transport has sharply criticized the seizure.
"In accordance with the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, freedom of navigation applies on the high seas and no state has the right to use force against vessels registered under the jurisdiction of other states," the ministry said in a statement.
The move is believed to be inflaming tensions with Russia, which is said to have several ships in the vicinity. The Wall Street Journal reported that Russia has sent a submarine to escort the oil tanker, previously known as the Bella 1.
Pursued since December
The ship is said to have been in the North Atlantic, about 200 kilometers south of the coast of Iceland, at the time of the operation.
The US military and Coast Guard began tracking the ship in December, when it was heading toward Venezuela to load up with oil. The US then followed the empty ship as it turned back into the Atlantic.
During the chase, the crew is said to have suddenly painted a Russian flag on the side of the ship, renamed it, and registered it in Russia.
Seizures in the Caribbean Sea
The seizure is part of efforts against the so-called "shadow fleet" - tankers that transport sanctioned oil, including oil that Russia is believed to be selling on the black market.
The oil tanker is said to have begun its journey towards Venezuela from Iran. The ship was hit with US sanctions in 2024 over alleged links to Iran and the Lebanese group Hezbollah.
On Wednesday afternoon, Southcom, the US military command for Central and Latin America, stated in an X post that another ship had been seized in the Caribbean Sea overnight Wednesday local time:
“The prohibited vessel, M/T Sophia, was operating in international waters and engaged in unauthorized activities in the Caribbean Sea. The U.S. Coast Guard is escorting M/T Sophia to the United States for final disposition.”
