Key Points and Synopsis: The United States has seized the Russian-flagged oil tanker Marinera in the North Atlantic after a high-stakes, two-week pursuit, during which Russia deployed a submarine to escort the vessel.
-Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed the seizure—along with the capture of the M/T Sophia in the Caribbean—as part of an intensified “oil blockade” against the shadow fleet.
-Despite Moscow condemning the act as “piracy” and deploying naval assets to prevent interdiction, U.S. forces, assisted by the UK Royal Air Force, successfully enforced the sanctions.
US Seizes Russian-Flagged Tanker Marinera Despite Submarine Protection
The United States has seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker in the North Atlantic after more than a two-week-long chase across the Atlantic.
The sanctioned vessel, which changed its name from Bella 1 to Marinera last month, has also reportedly been reflagged from Guyanese to Russian. fled from Venezuela and was seized on Wednesday.
The tanker is accused of being part of a shadow fleet transporting oil between Venezuela, Russia, and Iran, breaking US sanctions.
The U.S. also announced the seizure of another sanctioned tanker, the M/T Sophia, which it said was “conducting illicit activities in the Caribbean Sea.”
“Two oil tankers, two, overnight were seized by the United States of America, stateless or sanctioned, because the oil blockade, the quarantine of oil out of unsanctioned or stateless vessels continues,” Secretary of War Pete Hegseth told reporters at the U.S. Capitol. “That leverage will continue … our military is prepared to continue this.”
“We are prepared under the right conditions using the leverage that we have, which includes the fact that they cannot move any oil unless we allow them to move it,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the media during a press conference.
Russian Deploys Submarine, Other Naval Vessels To Protect Tanker:
Russian state media and The Wall Street Journal reported that Russia deployed a submarine and other naval units into the North Atlantic to escort the tanker and protect it from a U.S. interdiction attempt.
Russian nuclear submarine. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Yasen-M attack submarine. Image Credit: Russian Government.
This action by Moscow was significant, as it signals that Russia has moved beyond diplomatic protests over US actions by deploying military assets to prevent the US from seizing the oil tankers.
And it hasn’t been the first time Russia has taken such actions. In May of 2025, Russian naval vessels escorted oil tankers through the Gulf of Finland after regional authorities increased monitoring and interception activity on sanctioned vessels there following Finland’s accession to NATO.
Estonia attempted to stop a tanker suspected of sanctions evasion during the same time period, but Russian military assets appeared in the vicinity, after which the vessel was allowed to proceed toward Russian waters.
Last June, a Russian Navy corvette escorted two sanctioned tankers through the English Channel, far from Russia’s shores
The Russian corvette sailed closely alongside the tankers throughout the Channel transit, effectively precluding any Western attempt to board and seize them.
The Russian submarine and surface assets began as the Marinera moved through the North Atlantic, approximately 300 miles south of Iceland, on a northeast path toward the North Sea and toward the Russian port of Murmansk.
According to gCaptain, Murmansk is a key hub for Russian oil and gas activity and has been linked to departures of other vessels connected with the so-called “shadow fleet,” such as the tanker Hyperion.
US/UK Worked Together On The Seizure:
U.S. European Command confirmed the seizure of the Marinera in a press release. “The vessel was seized in the North Atlantic pursuant to a warrant issued by a U.S. federal court after being tracked by USCGC Munro,” it said in a post on X, while thanking the UK RAF for its assistance.
The empty tanker, now operating under a Russian flag and linked to Iranian-sanctioned shipments, had been tracked moving from the Caribbean to the North Atlantic over the past 17 days.
Russia condemned the seizure of the Bella 1, with its transport ministry arguing that “no state has the right to use force against vessels that are properly registered in the jurisdictions of other nations” under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, a treatythe US has not signed.
TASS also reported Russian lawmaker Leonid Slutsky called the US seizure of the vessel an act of “21st-century piracy,” which violates international law.
Recently, numerous ships of Russia’s shadow fleet have tried to evade U.S. ships in a simultaneous and seemingly coordinated attempt to rush past the blockade, according to The New York Times, which also reported that at least three tankers, in addition to the Marinera, operating in the area have been reflagged as Russian.
About the Author: Steve Balestrieri
Steve Balestrieri is a National Security Columnist. He served as a US Army Special Forces NCO and Warrant Officer. In addition to writing on defense, he covers the NFL for PatsFans.com and is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA). His work was regularly featured in many military publications