The Russian Ministry of Transport has sharply criticised the U.S. seizure of the Russian-flagged oil tanker Marinera in the North Atlantic, describing the action as a flagrant violation of international maritime law.
According to a statement to the Russian state news agency TASS, the ministry called on the United States to ensure the humane and dignified treatment of Russian citizens on board and to respect their rights and interests. The ministry said that communication with the vessel was lost around 3:00 p.m. local time (12:00 GMT) when U.S. naval forces boarded the ship “in the open sea outside the territorial waters of any state.”
The Ministry of Transport emphasized that the Marinera had been granted temporary permission to sail under the Russian state flag on December 24, 2025, in full compliance with national and international law. The ministry further referenced the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, noting that “the high seas are governed by the principle of freedom of navigation, and no state has the right to use force against a vessel lawfully registered under another state’s flag.”
The tanker Marinera, formerly known as Bella 1, was intercepted by U.S. naval forces in the North Atlantic Ocean on January 7, 2026, after a weeks‑long transatlantic pursuit linked to Washington’s efforts to enforce sanctions on Venezuelan oil exports. U.S. officials say a federal court issued a warrant for the seizure on the grounds that the vessel violated U.S. sanctions by attempting to transport Venezuelan crude and evade enforcement.
In response, the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence confirmed that UK forces had provided enabling support to the United States at their request in the interdiction of the vessel, then known as Bella 1, between the UK and Iceland. Operational support included basing assistance from the RFA Tideforce and air surveillance by the Royal Air Force, carried out in accordance with international law. The UK emphasised the close defence and security relationship with the United States, describing it as “the deepest in the world.”
Meanwhile, the United States, through Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, stated that the action is part of an ongoing blockade against vessels illegally transporting Venezuelan oil, which Washington says is used to finance illicit activities and exploit the Venezuelan people. Hegseth affirmed that “only legitimate and lawful energy commerce, as determined by the U.S., will be permitted.”
he Marinera had evaded an earlier U.S. Coast Guard boarding attempt near Venezuela in December 2025, during which it refused to stop and fled into the Caribbean and then the Atlantic. It changed its name and flew the Russian flag, reportedly painted on its hull and later formalised through registration in Sochi, while attempting to avoid capture. Before its reflagging, the tanker was tracked under a false or invalid flag, which U.S. officials said allowed the Coast Guard legal grounds to pursue it.
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