WSJ: US halts raid on shadow fleet tanker after Russian flag appears

https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2025/12/31/8014100/

47 Comments

  1. Jesus Christ, what do we need a picture of Trump actually fellating Putin before MAGA starts to see their emperor is in bed with the bad guys?

  2. YarpsDrittAdrAtta on

    I watched that movie. Cage and Leto starred in it. Leto changed the French flag to the Dutch flag by rotating it 90 degrees. K-O-N-O

  3. Oh whoops, these are just Russian shady deals. We thought it was a drug boat from Venezuela.

    Our bad.

  4. “Russian Flag appears”? They painted it on the side of the hull at the last second. I’ve lost all faith in humanity.

  5. AngryMillennialFU on

    We will bully every nation except Russia. Wonder why that is. Nevermind sanctions right?

  6. The coast guard tailed it for 10 days as “Special forces were fully prepared to board the vessel by force but were awaiting a green light from the White House. The situation became more complicated after a crudely painted Russian flag appeared on the hull of the Bella 1.”

    But we can shoot “drug boats” for no reason.

  7. Fisher boats – your war minister is ready to bring death to their family tree

    The literal enemies of the state: Donald wants you to tell Puty he still loves him

  8. Lol checkmate. Pete Hegseth: “Hey boss, they just started flying a Russian flag, should we still seize it?” Boss: “Lemme call Vlad, see what he thinks.”

  9. Aggressive_Chef_2225 on

    So the strongest naval defense in 2025 is… a badly painted Russian flag?
    Wild times.

  10. Impossible-Ad-887 on

    So Venezuela’s fleet and vessel boats just has to disguise themselves in Russian colors in order to avoid getting bombed?

  11. SimpleTomatillo1166 on

    From the article:

    “The US Coast Guard has suspended an operation to seize the sanctioned oil tanker Bella 1 after an image of the Russian flag appeared on its hull.

    Source: The Wall Street Journal, citing senior US officials.

    Details: US officials stated that US Coast Guard vessels had been shadowing the large oil tanker in the Atlantic Ocean for over 10 days, staying at a distance of about half a mile (around 800 metres).

    Special forces were fully prepared to board the vessel by force but were awaiting a green light from the White House.

    The situation became more complicated after a crudely painted Russian flag appeared on the hull of the Bella 1.

    Under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Coast Guard may seize vessels that are stateless or suspected of fraud.

    When the pursuit began, US authorities believed the Bella 1 was sailing under a false flag and therefore subject to a court order for seizure.

    Experts warn that if the vessel has in fact been legally re-registered in Russia, a forcible takeover would amount to a serious diplomatic escalation. Washington is concerned that Russia may have exploited legal loopholes and retroactively registered the tanker without inspections in order to provoke a confrontation. The US is now trying to clarify the tanker’s status through diplomatic channels.

    The Bella 1 is owned by a Turkish company and was placed under US sanctions for transporting Iranian oil on behalf of designated terrorist organisations, including Hezbollah, the Yemeni Houthis and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

    The tanker is considered part of the so-called shadow fleet used to transport sanctioned oil from Russia, Iran and Venezuela.

    Background:
    Last weekend, the Bella 1 made a sudden 180-degree turn to avoid inspection and departed at full speed away from the coast of Venezuela.

    On 17 December, US President Donald Trump announced a full blockade of sanctioned Venezuelan oil tankers.

    On 10 December, US forces operating in the Caribbean took full control of an oil tanker off the Venezuelan coast.”
    (End of excerpt.)

    How could they not know Russia is constantly using shadow fleet to transport oil just about all over the world? The rest of the ciivilized world has known this for years. They sail under flag of convenience to avoid scrutiny.

  12. imangryatyourgumbo on

    As it turns out, as we all were pretty much aware, the “Russia Russia Russia Hoax” clearly was not a hoax at all.

  13. willow_you_idiot on

    Lol, USA is literally being shadow puppet ran by Russia through the Trump admin. Its insane.

  14. SmartDiscussion2161 on

    So a Venezuelan fishing boat with unknown occupants can be blown out of the water by military strikes, but a heavily sanctioned, almost unilaterally condemned Russian shadow fleet tanker is given a free pass? FML can this moron get any lower?

  15. Red_black_flag_07 on

    This is a case when the implementation of the laws of your country may be limited by the foreign master of your boss.

  16. horrified_intrigued on

    Says everything you need to know about Trump’s America right now. Bought and owned, body and soul by Russia. It’s amazing how fast the US has fallen.

  17. JustMyOpinionz on

    The one time Trump could actually be right, legitimately in the right for confronting illegal ships in the oceans, ofc its fckin Russia