According to Grok, the tanker (Bella-1, later renamed Marinera) headed toward Venezuela in December 2025 to load sanctioned crude oil. It operated empty at that point and sailed under a Guyana flag initially.
US Coast Guard vessels intercepted it in the Caribbean around December 20. The crew refused boarding, made an abrupt turn, and fled eastward across the Atlantic instead of continuing to Venezuelan ports.
It never reached Venezuela or picked up any oil. During the escape, the crew reflagged it to Russia, renamed it Marinera, and headed north through the Atlantic - passing near the UK and toward northern areas -while evading pursuit for weeks.
US forces finally boarded and seized it empty on January 7, 2026, in the North Atlantic between Iceland and the UK. A second shadow fleet tanker got seized separately near the Caribbean that same day.
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It feels like piracy under color of law, no?