U.S. forces seized a sanctioned, illegally flagged oil tanker in the North Atlantic on Wednesday following a dramatic weeks-long pursuit across the Atlantic Ocean.
It is the third vessel of the Iranian “shadow fleet” captured under President Donald Trump’s Venezuela blockade campaign.
The tanker Marinera — formerly known as Bella 1 — was boarded by U.S. forces and “seized in the North Atlantic pursuant to a warrant issued by a U.S. federal court after being tracked by USCGC Munro,” U.S. European Command announced Wednesday.
The @TheJusticeDept & @DHSgov, in coordination with the @DeptofWar today announced the seizure of
the M/V Bella 1 for violations of U.S. sanctions. The vessel was seized in the North Atlantic pursuant to a warrant issued by a U.S. federal court after being tracked by USCGC Munro. pic.twitter.com/bm5KcCK30X— U.S. European Command (@US_EUCOM) January 7, 2026
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed the operation.
“The blockade of sanctioned and illicit Venezuelan oil remains in FULL EFFECT — anywhere in the world,” he said.
The vessel was sanctioned by the United States in June 2024 for transporting sanctioned Iranian crude oil on behalf of Hezbollah, Yemen’s Houthis, and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps. The tanker’s Turkish owner, Louis Marine Shipholding Enterprises, was also sanctioned for links to Iran’s radical Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps under the Biden administration.
U.S. Coast Guard personnel first attempted to board the tanker on December 20 in the Caribbean Sea as it approached Venezuela under Trump’s “Operation Southern Spear” blockade. The crew refused boarding, and the vessel fled across the Atlantic with USCG Munro in pursuit.
During the chase, the vessel tried to change its registration to Russian, renamed itself Marinera, and crew members hastily painted a Russian flag on its hull.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry demanded on New Year’s Eve that the U.S. halt its pursuit.
The ministry said Tuesday it was “monitoring with concern the anomalous situation surrounding the Russian oil tanker Marinera,” noting the vessel was “navigating international waters of the North Atlantic under the state flag of the Russian Federation and in full compliance with international maritime law.”
The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that Russia claimed to have deployed a submarine to escort the tanker. Two U.S. officials confirmed to CBS News that Russian naval assets were in the vicinity during Wednesday’s operation.
Trump was not deterred and ordered the shadow fleet vessel seized by American military forces operating under international maritime law.
U.S. officials rejected Russia’s claim of protection and said the sanctioned tanker was “flying a false flag and under a judicial seizure order.” The Trump administration maintains the vessel was “stateless” when the pursuit began, as it was sailing under a false Guyanese flag.
Under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, vessels without proper registration can be boarded in international waters. Article 92 states that ships may not change their flag during a voyage.
“Merely painting a flag on the side of a hull does not immediately grant that ship that nationality,” retired Rear Admiral Fred Kenney, former director of legal affairs at the International Maritime Organization, said.
TankerTrackers.com reported the Marinera transported 7.3 million barrels of Iranian crude and 3.7 million barrels of Venezuelan crude oil, all illegally, to China between 2021 and 2025.
The seizure follows Trump’s December 16 announcement of a “total and complete blockade” on sanctioned Venezuelan oil tankers that make up an international shadow fleet that has operated illegally, but in the open, for decades.
BREAKING – U.S. forces have boarded and are attempting to seize a renamed Venezuelan oil tanker flying Russian flags, which is being escorted by a Russian submarine and warships in the North Sea.
And for Trumps next trick he’s going to make the left pro Russia. pic.twitter.com/917hukMBMH
— Right Angle News Network (@Rightanglenews) January 7, 2026