The U.S. is making plans to intercept an oil tanker that Russia has claimed as its own, currently in the North Atlantic and heading northeast near the coast of the United Kingdom.
The Bella 1 was sanctioned by the U.S. earlier this year for operating within a shadow fleet allegedly carrying illicit oil. The tanker was headed to Venezuela when it reversed course to avoid seizure by the U.S. Coast Guard last month.
During its retreat, the on board crew painted a Russian flag on the ship’s hull, and claimed it was sailing under Russian protection. Soon thereafter, the ship appeared on Russia’s official registry of ships under a new name, the Marinera.
Russia filed a formal request for the U.S. to stop pursuing the ship. Its Russian status complicates the legalities of seizing the tanker.
The U.S. military has been increasing its presence in the area over the last few days.
US P-8 surveillance aircraft flying out of RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk, England, appear to have been surveilling the tanker in recent days, as observed by open-source flight data.
- Over the past 48 hours, at least 12 US C-17s have landed at Fairford and Lakenheath airbases, many originating from airfields in the U.S.
- At least two V-22 Ospreys have also been active in the UK over the past three days, with flight data appearing to show them running training missions in the eastern UK out of Fairford air base.
- And two AC-130 gunships were seen arriving at Mildenhall base in the UK on Sunday.
The U.S. would likely need to use Special Operations Forces and assets to help the US Coast Guard interdict a sanctioned tanker, as well as a Maritime Special Response Team with experience boarding vessels that do not willingly submit to seizure.
The New York Times reports that at least 16 oil tankers hit by U.S. sanctions have fled Venezuelan ports over the past two days to evade a U.S. blockade. Fifteen of the 16 tankers have been hauling Iranian and Russian oil.