Overview
- The tanker previously known as Bella 1 has been renamed Marinera, painted with a Russian flag, and is sailing in the North Atlantic hundreds of miles off Ireland and Scotland after evading a U.S. Coast Guard attempt to board it in the Caribbean.
- Two U.S. officials told CBS News that Washington has drawn up plans to intercept the vessel, with a move possible this week though officials cautioned the operation could still be shelved.
- U.S., UK, Irish, and French aircraft have tracked the ship, including U.S. P-8 patrol planes from RAF Mildenhall, a British Typhoon and RC-135W flight, and flights noted by open-source trackers, while U.S. officials declined to discuss operations.
- Russia has formally asked the U.S. to halt efforts targeting the ship, and European governments are holding urgent talks over legal exposure and the risk of escalation, with Irish reports noting U.S. flights transited airspace restricted for active military operations.
- The pursuit follows a December 10 U.S. seizure of the tanker Skipper and a declared blockade on sanctioned Venezuelan oil, as shadow-fleet tactics like renaming, reflagging, and spoofing complicate enforcement and the Marinera’s course potentially points toward the North Sea.