US forces seize rogue ‘shadow fleet’ oil tanker in dramatic raid after pursuit across Atlantic

Read more: What was the Marinera really carrying?

US officials have confirmed that they have taken custody of the Marinera.

Dramatic photos showed a helicopter hovering beside the tanker, now sailing under the Russian flag, which was last believed to be operating between Scotland and Iceland.

It is not currently carrying oil but has a long history of transporting sanctioned Venezuelan crude oil and has been under sustained US surveillance for weeks.

It was revealed earlier today that Russia has deployed naval surface vessels and submarines into the North Atlantic to protect the Marinera.

The Russian Foreign Ministry says it is monitoring the reported US boarding of the Marinera oil tanker, describing the situation as "abnormal"

Marine tracking data shows that the vessel recently switched course to head south.

Flight logs also indicate that a Boeing Poseidon MRA1 has left RAF Lossiemouth and several US Air Force Pilatus U-28A Draco have left Wick with a destination of Reykjavik.

So far, Downing Street has refused to comment on reports that the US is seizing the oil tanker which is travelling off British waters.

No 10 said it would not comment on speculation, or the uses of British military bases by third parties.

US officials told the Reuters news agency that the operation is being carried out by the Coast Guard and US military.

The US Coast Guard has also reportedly attempted to board another crude oil tanker in the Caribbean, off the coast of Latin America.

As LBC reported yesterday, American officials have confirmed US forces are preparing to board the vessel and would prefer to seize it rather than sink it. The tanker’s sudden Russian naval escort appears designed to deter that move.

The ship was formerly known as Bella 1.

The owner of the Marinera was previously sanctioned in 2024.

Louis Marine Shipholding Enterprises SA, a Turkey-based company, was accused of having links to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) by the Biden administration.

A public notice issued by US officials said the company had moved goods on behalf of the Quds Force, the IRGC's overseas operations arm. The division supports armed groups allied with Iran around the Middle East, including the Houthis in Yemen and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

According to MarineTraffic, the Marinera is the only vessel owned by Louis Marine Shipholding, which matches the address of the company on the sanctions list.

Last month, the US Coast Guard attempted to board it in the Caribbean under a warrant linked to sanctions breaches and allegations it had shipped Iranian oil.

Instead, the vessel abruptly changed course, renamed itself, reflagged from Guyana to Russia and headed north across the Atlantic.

Donald Trump ordered a blockade of sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela in December, a policy Caracas condemned as “theft”.

In the run-up to the US operation that captured former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro over the weekend, Trump repeatedly accused Venezuela of using maritime routes to traffic drugs into the United States.

Read more: US warplanes and elite strike force flock to UK bases as Venezuela-linked tanker seizure looms

Read more: British jets join hunt for Venezuelan oil tanker in North Atlantic 'off British Isles'

As Marinera approached Europe over the weekend, US military activity around the UK intensified. Flight tracking data shows US Navy P-8 Poseidon surveillance aircraft operating from RAF Mildenhall closely monitoring the tanker as it crossed the Atlantic, potentially skirting Ireland’s exclusive economic zone around 230 miles offshore.

Around ten US military transport aircraft and helicopters have also arrived in the UK in recent days.

AIS tracking data, which can be spoofed or manipulated, placed the tanker roughly 2,000km west of continental Europe on Tuesday. Weather conditions, distance from land and the presence of Russian naval assets are all thought to be complicating any boarding operation.

Russia’s foreign ministry said it was “monitoring with concern” what it described as disproportionate US and Nato attention.

“Our vessel is sailing in international waters of the North Atlantic under the state flag of the Russian Federation and in full compliance with international maritime law,” it said, accusing Western states of hypocrisy over freedom of navigation.

Maritime analysts say the reflagging is unlikely to stop US action. Dimitris Ampatzidis, senior risk and compliance analyst at maritime intelligence firm Kpler, said that enforcement decisions hinge on a vessel’s IMO number, ownership networks and sanctions history, not its name or painted flag.

Switching to the Russian registry, he said, may increase diplomatic friction but does not provide legal protection.

Any US military operation launched from or near the UK would be expected to be coordinated with London. The Ministry of Defence declined to comment, saying it does not discuss the military activities of other nations.

US officials have suggested the operation could mirror last month’s seizure of The Skipper, when US Marines and special operations forces worked with the Coast Guard to take control of a tanker linked to sanctioned Venezuelan and Iranian oil exports.

The confrontation comes days after the US stunned the international community by extracting Maduro from Caracas during a high-intensity operation that included strikes in the capital.

With Russian naval units now physically interposed between US forces and a sanctioned tanker, the standoff has shifted from sanctions enforcement into far more dangerous territory.