Russia has formally asked the United States to stop pursuing an oil tanker that US forces have been tracking in the Atlantic.
A Russian diplomatic request asking the United States to stop pursuing an oil tanker was delivered to the US State Department late on Wednesday and also sent to the White House Homeland Security Council, as American forces continued tracking the vessel known as Bella 1, which had been pursued for nearly two weeks.
Bella 1 began its voyage in Iran and was sailing towards Venezuela to load oil. US authorities attempted to stop and board the vessel in the Caribbean Sea. American officials argued that the tanker did not have a valid national flag when the US Coast Guard approached it, making it a “stateless” ship for enforcement purposes. The crew refused to comply and turned the vessel back towards the Atlantic.
After the attempted boarding, the ship sought to present itself as Russian-flagged. The same reports said crew members painted a Russian tricolour on the hull and told the Coast Guard by radio that they were sailing under the Russian flag. In recent days, the vessel has appeared in Russia’s official registry under a new name, Marinera, with Sochi listed as its home port.
A US official, speaking anonymously in the reporting cited, said the administration continues to regard the tanker as stateless because it was operating under what Washington considers a false flag when the Coast Guard first approached it. The White House declined official comment.
The question of a ship’s flag is central to what other states can do at sea. Vessels are generally expected to sail under the flag of one state, which carries responsibility for registration and oversight. When a ship cannot demonstrate a valid nationality, other states may argue for wider powers to stop and inspect it than they would normally exercise against a clearly registered foreign-flag vessel. In this case, the reporting frames the dispute around the tanker’s status at the moment of the Coast Guard encounter and whether later steps taken by the crew and by Russian authorities change that position.
The tanker episode is unfolding as President Donald Trump seeks to broker a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine. The dispute could complicate diplomacy by adding a separate confrontation involving Venezuela and maritime enforcement.
It also comes amid a tightening US campaign against Venezuelan oil exports. On 16 December, Trump announced what he called a “total and complete blockade” of sanctioned oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela, Reuters reported.
On 31 December, the US Treasury sanctioned four companies for operating in Venezuela’s oil sector and identified four associated oil tankers as blocked property. In its statement, Treasury named NORD STAR (linked to Corniola Limited and Krape Myrtle Co LTD), ROSALIND (also known as LUNAR TIDE, linked to Winky International Limited), and DELLA and VALIANT (linked to Aries Global Investment LTD). Treasury said the vessels had transported Venezuelan oil and described the shipping network as part of a “shadow fleet”.
Separately, on 30th December, the United States sanctioned 10 individuals and entities in Iran and Venezuela over alleged involvement in weapons and unmanned aerial vehicle programmes, including Venezuela-based Empresa Aeronautica Nacional and its chair, according to Reuters and a Treasury statement.
