Two week pursuit That’s less an oil tanker chase, more like the world’s slowest episode of Fast & Furious.
boobookittyfuwk on
Good. Article is interesting.
MiniBrownie on
This Guardian article covers pretty well the complicated story behind this ship. It’s not as simple as “Venezuela-linked” as some other news outlets have reported. Here’s a TL;DR
* It was formerly known as *Bella 1* and has been under US sanctions since 2024.
* It was travelling from Iran to Venezuela. It was falsely flagged as a Guyanese vessel. (False flag means that it was not actually registered with Guyanese authorities)
* It never reached Venezuela. In December it suddenly turned back into the Atlantic attempting to evade US boarding.
* Then it was quickly renamed to *Marinera*, a Russian flag was painted on its hull and it was added to Russia’s official shipping registry.
* In the past weeks it has been crossing the Atlantic aiming for the gap between the UK and Iceland, while Russia has been requesting the US to stop its pursuit.
* Yesterday it was reported that the Russian navy had deployed a submarine to escort this tanker
Main takeaway is that whatever is on this ship it was very, very important for both US and Russia.
> “UK Armed Forces provided pre-planned operational support, including basing, to U.S. military assets interdicting the Bella 1 in the UK-Iceland-Greenland gap following a U.S. request for assistance. RFA Tideforce provided support for U.S. forces pursuing and interdicting the Bella 1, while the RAF provided surveillance support from the air”
sisali on
RAF and Norwegian assets have been swarming the tanker for a couple of days now.
Looks like a good op all things considered.
Godnork on
Good stuff, keep squeezing Putin!
Darkone539 on
Wonder if we will find out what was on it. Russia was sending a submarine to escort it for some reason.
Torch3dAce on
Proof of alien life on that ship.
-S-P-E-C-T-R-E- on
More of this, and less of bullying Allied countries, please.
ABoutDeSouffle on
As much as I dislike the Trump gangster admin, they show how it’s done with the Russian shadow fleet.
Europe doesn’t dare touch them in the Baltic sea, we could learn a thing or two here.
Overton_Glazier on
And this is why all the shit about Trump being Putin’s puppet is a lazy distraction and a way to excuse Trump for his own actions and motivations.
nahnahnahthatsnotme on
genuine question- HOW does a tanker crew repel an attempt for military to board the vessel?
for example- i can’t imagine the tanker is faster than the helicopters/ other boats. Do the crew threaten violence / shoot at them? Evasive manoeuvres?
can’t figure out why it’s hard to board
No_Historian3349 on
Jake Sullivan must be whimpering in terror in his closet right now.
midnightrider747 on
Its delicious to see that the russians are afraid to do something since putin dont want to tank relations with Donnie further as is.
Heroyem on
Russia looking impotent yet again
SugarActive7943 on
Days ago we seeing China equipped an civil container shipping with missile and drone launchers.
muddled1 on
Is that the same Russian ship off the coast of Ireland (again), does anyone know?
Black3Raven on
These are real “sanctions” against the shadow fleet, not a toothless response from the EU.
Novarte on
It’s obviously the long-lost Ark of the Covenant.
IronDragonGx on
Be funny if there was nothing but labubus on board 🤔
myrainyday on
Trump keeps surprising me in a positive way lately. I don’t know what’s going but first they got that a-hole from Venesuela, now this, great job. I want to see more of this ofc not annexing Greenland.
nvkylebrown on
FWIW, if this is a continuation of previous efforts, it was likely not the US Navy conducting the boarding, but the US Coast Guard.
Nice-Appearance-9720 on
Are we allowed to ask why “Coalition of the wiling” isn’t doing the same? Its not like FR and UK have a small navy.
Hungry-Geologist911 on
cant wait drunk medvedev opinion about this, let me guess, “we will nuke you all” ?
Confident_Row7417 on
Spy equipment…weapons…maybe just picking up oil for refineries in Iran…either way, awesome to just take it with 3 Russian warships sitting beside it not doing anything lol. How would you like to be those guys boarding the ship?
ridnovir on
EU should seize every shadow fleet tanker it can!
Careful_Bell8426 on
So the US flies in assets to the UK to seize a Russian ship north of Ireland. Maybe if Europe wasn’t so dickless it could have done this itself.
Osirus1156 on
Two weeks? What did they send a wooden sailing ship after it?
Ewendmc on
They should be seizing every sanction busting ship.
EnergyOwn6800 on
What happened to all the Trump TACO crowd. They been real silent since Venezuela and now this….
While U.S. is actually getting their hands dirty and putting their military to work.
EU is sitting in some corner some where tweeting “Hey guys lets all be nice and negotiate, use caution and restraint for peace and love”…
DavidKollar64 on
Two week pursuit?…how fast are those tankers those days🤪😎
30 Comments
Two week pursuit That’s less an oil tanker chase, more like the world’s slowest episode of Fast & Furious.
Good. Article is interesting.
This Guardian article covers pretty well the complicated story behind this ship. It’s not as simple as “Venezuela-linked” as some other news outlets have reported. Here’s a TL;DR
* It was formerly known as *Bella 1* and has been under US sanctions since 2024.
* It was travelling from Iran to Venezuela. It was falsely flagged as a Guyanese vessel. (False flag means that it was not actually registered with Guyanese authorities)
* It never reached Venezuela. In December it suddenly turned back into the Atlantic attempting to evade US boarding.
* Then it was quickly renamed to *Marinera*, a Russian flag was painted on its hull and it was added to Russia’s official shipping registry.
* In the past weeks it has been crossing the Atlantic aiming for the gap between the UK and Iceland, while Russia has been requesting the US to stop its pursuit.
* Yesterday it was reported that the Russian navy had deployed a submarine to escort this tanker
Main takeaway is that whatever is on this ship it was very, very important for both US and Russia.
**Update** – [The UK was also involved:](https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/jan/07/europe-greenland-denmark-us-france-trade-weather-latest-news-updates?CMP=share_btn_url&page=with%3Ablock-695e7bf88f085fa3d4b3f950#block-695e7bf88f085fa3d4b3f950)
> “UK Armed Forces provided pre-planned operational support, including basing, to U.S. military assets interdicting the Bella 1 in the UK-Iceland-Greenland gap following a U.S. request for assistance. RFA Tideforce provided support for U.S. forces pursuing and interdicting the Bella 1, while the RAF provided surveillance support from the air”
RAF and Norwegian assets have been swarming the tanker for a couple of days now.
Looks like a good op all things considered.
Good stuff, keep squeezing Putin!
Wonder if we will find out what was on it. Russia was sending a submarine to escort it for some reason.
Proof of alien life on that ship.
More of this, and less of bullying Allied countries, please.
As much as I dislike the Trump gangster admin, they show how it’s done with the Russian shadow fleet.
Europe doesn’t dare touch them in the Baltic sea, we could learn a thing or two here.
And this is why all the shit about Trump being Putin’s puppet is a lazy distraction and a way to excuse Trump for his own actions and motivations.
genuine question- HOW does a tanker crew repel an attempt for military to board the vessel?
for example- i can’t imagine the tanker is faster than the helicopters/ other boats. Do the crew threaten violence / shoot at them? Evasive manoeuvres?
can’t figure out why it’s hard to board
Jake Sullivan must be whimpering in terror in his closet right now.
Its delicious to see that the russians are afraid to do something since putin dont want to tank relations with Donnie further as is.
Russia looking impotent yet again
Days ago we seeing China equipped an civil container shipping with missile and drone launchers.
Is that the same Russian ship off the coast of Ireland (again), does anyone know?
These are real “sanctions” against the shadow fleet, not a toothless response from the EU.
It’s obviously the long-lost Ark of the Covenant.
Be funny if there was nothing but labubus on board 🤔
Trump keeps surprising me in a positive way lately. I don’t know what’s going but first they got that a-hole from Venesuela, now this, great job. I want to see more of this ofc not annexing Greenland.
FWIW, if this is a continuation of previous efforts, it was likely not the US Navy conducting the boarding, but the US Coast Guard.
Are we allowed to ask why “Coalition of the wiling” isn’t doing the same? Its not like FR and UK have a small navy.
cant wait drunk medvedev opinion about this, let me guess, “we will nuke you all” ?
Spy equipment…weapons…maybe just picking up oil for refineries in Iran…either way, awesome to just take it with 3 Russian warships sitting beside it not doing anything lol. How would you like to be those guys boarding the ship?
EU should seize every shadow fleet tanker it can!
So the US flies in assets to the UK to seize a Russian ship north of Ireland. Maybe if Europe wasn’t so dickless it could have done this itself.
Two weeks? What did they send a wooden sailing ship after it?
They should be seizing every sanction busting ship.
What happened to all the Trump TACO crowd. They been real silent since Venezuela and now this….
While U.S. is actually getting their hands dirty and putting their military to work.
EU is sitting in some corner some where tweeting “Hey guys lets all be nice and negotiate, use caution and restraint for peace and love”…
Two week pursuit?…how fast are those tankers those days🤪😎