Will US capture of Russian-flagged tanker lead to conflict with Putin?

Tensions are brewing on the high seas. The United States on Wednesday (January 7) seized a Russia-linked oil tanker in the North Atlantic after pursuing it from off the coast of Venezuela. This move raises concerns of a fresh flashpoint between the US and Russia. Moscow has already condemned Washington on the seizure, saying “freedom of navigation applies in waters on the high seas”.

This isn’t the only seizure that the US has carried out. America also announced the seizure of another sanctioned tanker, the M/T Sophia, which it said was “conducting illicit activities in the Caribbean Sea.”

But why is this massive, rusty crude oil tanker become the focal point in US-Russia ties? What exactly was this ship carrying? And what could be the fallout of seizing this vessel? We examine the situation closely and get you all the answers.

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Marinera that was once Bella 1 — the ship at the centre of it all

On Wednesday, the US European Command confirmed the seizure of the Marinera for violating US sanctions. “The vessel was seized in the North Atlantic pursuant to a warrant issued by a US federal court after being tracked by USCGC Munro,” it said in a post on X.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on Capitol Hill that the tanker was seized as part of “stabilisation” efforts for Venezuela.

According to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem had 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.” The “heroic” crew of USCGC Munro, she added, pursued the vessel “across the high seas and through treacherous storms.”

But what exactly is the Marinera? This 300-metre-long vessel is alleged to be part of the shadow or “ghost” fleets used by Russia, Iran and Venezuela to avoid western sanctions. For years, these vessels have moved cargo and cheap fuel around the globe, including to China.

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Interestingly, the Marinera is one among the many tankers that have escaped the US blockade. It also evaded capture last December following which it changed its name from Bella 1 and switched course towards northern Russia before being boarded on Wednesday as it sailed in the frigid Atlantic.

The Bella 1, as it was previously called, was falsely flying the flag of Guyana last month. The Russian transport ministry later said that it had granted the vessel “temporary permission” to sail under its flag on December 24. According to a BBC report, while the vessel is registered in Russia, it has no start date. Moreover, MarineTraffic shows the ship’s flag status — which is manually entered by the crew — changed to Russia on January 4.

The Bella 1 or the Marinera as it is now called has been sanctioned by the US since June 2024 on allegations of smuggling cargo for a company linked to Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran.

What was the ship carrying when it was seized though? The Marinera was empty of oil at the time of the seizure. However, the route it had previously taken — between Iran and Venezuela — is suspected of being a path for illicit trade, including for weapons.

The US operation to seize Russia-flagged Marinera

On Wednesday, the two-week chase of the Marinera ended when US special forces rappelled down on to the vessel. It is reported that America’s famous unit, known as the Night Stalkers, boarded and swiftly seized control of the vessel and her crew with the help of American and British military hardware, including warships, spy planes, fighter jets and gunships.

The Times has reported that the operation to seize the Marinera was worked out a week ago after the ship had evaded capture earlier. Once the US and the UK tracked the vessel sailing across the Atlantic, it began amassing military aircraft. A fleet of at least 14 C-17 Globemaster transport aircraft and two heavily armed AC-130J Ghostrider gunships landed at three RAF bases in Suffolk and Gloucestershire on Saturday. The Times notes that the Globemasters were carrying at least five MH-60M Black Hawk helicopters and one MH-47G Chinook, which are used for special forces operations.

Finally, on Wednesday came the moment. Visuals showed the Night Stalkers hovering over the deck in their Little Bird helicopter, before troops were landed on the vessel.

UK’s Ministry of Defence later noted that British armed forces had extended their help in the operation. The UK said that the US asked for assistance, and RAF surveillance aircraft and a Royal Navy support ship, the RFA Tideforce, took part in the operation. UK’s Defence Secretary John Healey further noted that the action was “in full compliance with international law”, adding the UK “will not stand by as malign activity increases on the high seas”.

He also explained in a statement that the reason why the UK participated in the capture was because the government was “stepping up activity against shadow vessels”. “By assisting our US allies in taking this ship off the seas, we are protecting the British people and our nation,” said Healey.

He further noted that the Marinera had moved 7.3 million barrels of oil on behalf of Iran, “the proceeds of which have been used to finance terrorism, threat and instability across the world”. He also said the shadow fleet was “vital to Vladimir Putin’s ongoing illegal invasion and war in Ukraine”.

Russia reacts to capture of Marinera

Shortly after the US announced the capture of the Marinera vessel, Russia accused the US of violating maritime law, with one lawmaker calling it “outright piracy”.

“In accordance with the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, freedom of navigation applies in the high seas, and no state has the right to use force against vessels duly registered in the jurisdictions of other states,” said Russia.

Moscow also called on the US to guarantee the safety and immediate return of its citizens on board the vessel. “Russia demands that the US ensure humane and dignified treatment of Russian citizens on the ship Marinera, and respect their rights and interests,” the Putin government was quoted as telling Tass media.

Russian lawmaker Alexei Zhuravlev further noted that the US should be “stopped" through forceful retaliation.

“To attack with torpedoes, to sink a couple of American Coast Guard boats, normally, they guard their shore several thousand kilometres away from it," Zhuravlev said.

“I think the United States, which is in a kind of euphoria of impunity after the special operation in Venezuela, can only be stopped now with such a click on the nose," he added.

What Marinera’s capture means for US-Russia ties

For many, the US capture of the Marinera vessel will further ratchet tensions between Washington and Moscow.

For some, the operation indicates that Trump has markedly cooled toward Russian President Vladimir Putin. This comes as the US president continues to work on getting Moscow and Kyiv to sign off on a peace deal that would end the Russian war in Ukraine.

Some experts even suggest that the operation is an attempt to get Putin to compromise on terms in the Ukraine peace deal.

The operation also delivers a serious blow to Russia’s global ambitions. First, the US raid in Caracas demonstrated that the Russian air defences Nicolas Maduro so often boasted of were as ineffective as those that failed to protect Iran’s military facilities from Israeli and US strikes last year. Now, the capture of a vessel proves that Moscow isn’t as infallible as it appears.

What happens next is uncertain, but the US president has laid bare Russian weakness before a watching world.

With inputs from agencies