US seizes banned Venezuelan oil tanker off UK coast as Vladimir Putin scrambles navy escort

The seizure, which could stoke tensions with Russia, came after the tanker, originally known as the Bella-1, slipped through a US maritime "blockade" of sanctioned tankers and rebuffed US Coast Guard efforts to board it.

It comes after US forces entered Venezuela on Saturday to seize its now-deposed president, Nicolas Maduro, who is in New York facing drug charges.

Russian state media cited an unnamed source as saying that a US coast guard vessel had been following the tanker and that an attempt to seize it during a storm had already been carried out.

They added that Russian military vessels were in the general vicinity of the operation, including a Russian submarine. It was unclear how close the vessels were to the operation, which was taking place close to Iceland.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has been cited by state media as saying that the ship, which is now flying the Russian flag, is in international waters and acting according to international maritime law. It has called on Western countries to respect the vessel's right to freedom of navigation.

The tanker, now known as the Marinera, is the latest tanker targeted by the US Coast Guard since the start of President Donald Trump's pressure campaign against Venezuela.

Separately, the US Coast Guard has also intercepted another Venezuela-linked tanker in Latin American waters, as the US continues enforcing a maritime "blockade" of sanctioned vessels from Venezuela.

The vessel, M/T Sophia, was apprehended in international waters and is being escorted to the United States, Southern Command has confirmed.

A spokesman said: "In a pre-dawn action this morning, the Department of War, in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security, apprehended a stateless, sanctioned dark fleet motor tanker without incident,"

The Icelandic coast guard, MBL, has confirmed it is monitoring the movements of Marinera, which it said sailed into the southeastern Icelandic exclusive economic zone at around 4am local time.

A spokesman from MBL said coast the vessel is not carrying any oil cargo.

An MBL spokesman said: "The Icelandic Coast Guard has been monitoring the movements of this vessel, as with other ships that appear in the Coast Guard’s surveillance systems in the waters around Iceland."

Alexander Kots, a pro-government correspondent for a local newspaper, wrote on Telegram that "nuclear war could be just one step away".

He wrote: "If Americans seize our ship and we limit ourselves to rhetoric about 'red lines', it will convince Trump that we are just a very large Venezuela, that Russia can be pushed around without any real consequences. It could all end with American forces standing on the front lines, and Tomahawk missile carriers entering the Black Sea."

The Kremlin has not yet commented on the situation.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the blockade of sanctioned Venezuelan oil remains in full effect "anywhere in the world".

President Trump's administration was also pressing a deal with Venezuela to divert supplies from Beijing and import up to $2billion worth of crude.

He has openly spoken of controlling Venezuela's vast oil reserves, in conjunction with US oil companies, after the removal of Maduro whom he has cast as a drug-trafficking dictator in league with Washington's foes.

Maduro's Socialist Party allies remain in power in Venezuela, where interim President Delcy Rodriguez is treading a fine line between denouncing his "kidnapping" and kick-starting cooperation with the US under explicit threats from President Trump.

President Trump said the US would refine and sell up to 50 million barrels of crude stuck in Venezuela under a US blockade as a first step in his plan to revive a sector long in decline.

Mr Trump said: "This Oil will be sold at its Market Price, and that money will be controlled by me, as President of the United States of America, to ensure it is used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States!"

Sources at state oil company PDVSA told reporters negotiations for an export deal had progressed, though Venezuela's government made no official announcement.

Crude prices fell oil prices fell around one per cent on world markets due to anticipated increased supplies.

The deal could initially require cargoes bound for Venezuela's top buyer China to be rerouted as Caracas seeks to unload millions of barrels stranded in tankers and storage.

Beijing's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a press conference: "The United States' brazen use of force against Venezuela and its demand for 'America First' when Venezuela disposes of its own oil resources are typical acts of bullying,"

China, Russia and leftist allies of Venezuela have all denounced the US raid to capture Maduro, which was Washington's biggest such intervention in Latin America since the 1989 invasion of Panama to topple Manuel Noriega.

Washington's allies are also deeply uneasy at the extraordinary precedent of seizing a foreign head of state, with Trump making a slew of threats of more action, from Mexico to Greenland, to further US interests.

Since the US imposed energy sanctions on Venezuela in 2019, traders and refiners buying Venezuelan oil have resorted to a "shadow fleet" of tankers that disguise their location, or to vessels already sanctioned for transporting Iranian or Russian oil.

The shadow fleet is considered exposed to possible punitive measures from the U.S., shipping analysts have said.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed the UK Armed Forces provided pre-planned operational support, including basing, to US military assets interdicting the Bella 1.

Defence Secretary John Healey MP said: “Today our UK Armed Forces showed skill and professionalism in support of a successful U.S. interception of the vessel Bella 1 while on its way to Russia. This action formed part of global efforts to crack down on sanctions busting.

“This ship, with a nefarious history, is part of a Russian-Iranian axis of sanctions evasion which is fuelling terrorism, conflict, and misery from the Middle East to Ukraine.

“The UK will continue to step up our action against shadow fleet activity to protect our national security, our economy, and global stability – making Britain secure at home and strong abroad.

“The U.S. is the UK’s closest defence and security partner. The depth of our defence relationship with the U.S. is an essential part of our security, and today’s seamlessly executed operation shows just how well this works in practice.”