America has seized two sanctioned oil tankers linked to Venezuela in back-to-back operations in the North Atlantic and the Caribbean.
US forces boarded the Marinera – originally known as the Bella 1 – between Iceland and Scotland as it was travelling north.
A Russian submarine and warship were close by, two US officials told Reuters.
The United States European Command said it had been boarded under a warrant issued by a US federal court.
Pete Hegseth, the US defence secretary, posted on X: “The blockade of sanctioned and illicit Venezuelan oil remains in FULL EFFECT – anywhere in the world.”
Live updates: US seizes oil tanker linked to Venezuela and Russia
Why was it seized?
The US has been pursuing the tanker for two weeks since it slipped through a “blockade” around Venezuela.
It was sanctioned in 2024 for allegedly smuggling cargo for a company linked to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. The US Coast Guard tried to intercept the vessel last month but it refused to be boarded.
The ship was sailing under a Guyana flag when it left the Caribbean, but has since registered under a Russian flag.
Pic: US European Command/PA
Was the UK involved?
Britain provided “enabling support”, including the use of bases, to US military assets intercepting the tanker.
“RFA Tideforce [often used as a refuelling vessel] provided support for US forces pursuing and interdicting the Bella 1, while the RAF provided surveillance support from the air,” said a Ministry of Defence statement.
Sky News OSINT producer Lydia Morrish said three US Air Force special operations command planes had left Wick Airport in northeast Scotland early on Wednesday afternoon and were expected to land in Reykjavik around 3pm.
A RAF transport aircraft was also estimated to land there at the same time after taking off from RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire around 11.30am.
It was unclear what those planes were doing or if their movements were linked to the US oil tanker operation.
What has Russia said?
Before the US seized the vessel, Russia’s foreign ministry said the tanker was in international waters and was acting according to international maritime law, according to Russian state broadcaster RT.
The ministry said the ship was flying the Russian flag and called on Western countries to respect its right to freedom of navigation.
After the seizure, Russia’s transport ministry said “no state has the right to use force against vessels duly registered in the jurisdictions of other states”.
Events come after Venezuela’s president ‘captured’
It is the latest tanker to be targeted by the US Coast Guard since Donald Trump’s campaign to put pressure on Venezuela.
The seizure came days after US special forces launched a dawn raid into Caracas to capture Venezuela’s president, Nicolas Maduro, and take him to the United States.
He was then turned over to federal authorities for prosecution on charges involving alleged drug trafficking.
US seizes separate Venezuela-linked tanker
The US Coast Guard also intercepted another Venezuela-linked tanker in Caribbean waters, the US Southern Command said.
The vessel was the Panama-flagged supertanker M Sophia, which is under sanctions and had departed from Venezuelan waters in early January as part of a fleet of ships carrying Venezuelan oil to China.
What has Trump said?
In an all-caps statement on his Truth Social platform after the seizure, US President Donald Trump said: “Russia and China have zero fear of NATO without the United States, and I doubt NATO would be there for us if we really needed them.”
He added: “We will always be there for NATO, even if they won’t be there for us.”
This story originally appeared on Skynews
