The crew of a sanctioned oil tanker bound for Venezuela attempted a brazen ruse earlier this month, painting a Russian flag on its hull to claim Moscow's protection as the U.S. Coast Guard pursued the vessel.
The confrontation unfolded Dec. 21 as the Trump administration intensified its blockade of sanctioned vessels, part of an effort to choke off oil linked to Venezuela's government and pressure dictator Nicolás Maduro's regime.
The Bella 1, sanctioned by the U.S. last year for carrying Iranian oil, drew attention after refusing to comply with Coast Guard orders to stop for boarding, The New York Times reported Tuesday. Instead, it turned away from Venezuelan waters and accelerated toward the open Atlantic.
U.S. military commanders said the ship is significantly larger than any Coast Guard cutter.
The vessel initially declined to comply when approached, prompting the Pentagon to assemble additional personnel and equipment.
The Bella 1's location transponder has been turned off since Dec. 17, according to the Times, meaning it cannot be tracked continuously by U.S. forces.
The ship also appears to have changed course northwest, away from the Mediterranean, possibly heading toward Greenland or Iceland, two U.S. officials briefed on the matter and speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive operation told the Times.
U.S. officials said the Coast Guard tried to intercept the Bella 1 in the Caribbean after determining it was not flying a valid national flag, making it subject to boarding under international law. But the ship did not comply and continued sailing, and it has since been pursued by U.S. forces.
Officials said they obtained a seizure warrant based on the vessel's previous involvement in the Iranian oil trade. The Bella 1 is part of a shadow fleet of tankers that move oil from Russia, Iran, and Venezuela in violation of sanctions imposed by the U.S. and other countries.
The Coast Guard, with assistance from the Navy, seized a sanctioned tanker called Skipper on Dec. 10, another part of the shadow fleet that the U.S. said operates on the fringes of the law to move sanctioned cargo. It was not flying a nation's flag when the Coast Guard seized it.
On Dec. 20, U.S. forces seized a Panama-flagged vessel called Centuries. The White House described Centuries as a "falsely flagged vessel operating as part of the Venezuelan shadow fleet to traffic stolen oil."
Newsmax reached out to U.S. Southern Command, which oversees U.S. military operations in the region, for comment.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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