Russia has deployed a submarine and other naval vessels to escort an oil tanker that the US Coast Guard attempted to board near Venezuela and is now chasing across the Atlantic, according to a report.
Russia has deployed a submarine and other naval assets to escort an oil tanker that the US Coast Guard attempted to board near Venezuela and is now chasing across the Atlantic, according to Wall Street Journal.
The confrontation around the tanker is a rare face-off between Russia and the United States in President Donald Trump’s second term.
The face-off involves an empty, rusting tanker that was formerly known was ‘Bella 1’ and was sailing under a false flag. But it has recently changed its name to ‘Marinera’ and registered itself in Russia.
At the time the US Coast Guard began the pursuit of the ship, it was accused of carrying black-market Iranian and Russian oil on behalf of US-designated terrorist organisations aligned with the Iranian regime, according to Journal.
After registering the ship in its jurisdiction, the Russian government and state media have come to the ship’s defence. While the foreign minister expressed concerns about the pursued, state media have argued that the American pursuit of the ship is unjustified.
BREAKING WORLD EXCLUSIVE: RT obtains FIRST footage of Russian-flagged civilian Marinera tanker being CHASED by US Coast Guard warship in the North Atlantic https://t.co/sNbqJkm5O5 pic.twitter.com/XtbBML3a6j
— RT (@RT_com) January 6, 2026
For two weeks, the tanker has been fleeing from the US Coast Guard. In December, the US Coast Guard tried to board the ship after preventing it from docking in Venezuela and loading with oil. The US Coast Guard was boarding the ship as part of the blockade of sanctioned oil tankers against Venezuela.
Russia has asked the Trump administration to stop pursuing the ship.
Russia has a vast network of ‘shadow fleet’ that discreetly transports illicit oil across the world and powers the Russian economy. Such a network also involves other oil-producing states like Venezuela and Iran that rely on such shadow tankers because of sanctions.
In recent weeks, the United States has already seized two large tankers named ‘Skipper’ and ‘Centuries’, which it said were part of a fleet transporting illicit oil.
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