US seizes Venezuela-linked oil tanker off British waters

The US has seized a Venezuela-linked oil tanker which is travelling off British waters, an official has said.

US forces boarded the Marinera, a Russian-flagged vessel previously known as Bella-1, on Wednesday, as it travelled north and eastwards through the waters between Iceland and Scotland.

The vessel was said to have escaped Donald Trump’s “total naval blockade” of Venezuela, put in place in December.

Photos shared by the US’s European military command on social media as it confirmed the seizure showed the Marinera at a distance off the prow of an American vessel.

Several US military planes and British surveillance aircraft have been seen patrolling the skies in the vicinity of the oil tanker in recent days as it travelled through the North Atlantic.

A US official said that American law enforcement officials are now aboard the Marinera, supported by the nation’s armed forces.

There are no indications so far of gunfire during the seizure of the vessel.

The US European Command said the tanker had been “seized in the North Atlantic pursuant to a warrant issued by a US federal court after being tracked by USCGC Munro”.

It continued: “This seizure supports (Mr Trump’s) Proclamation targeting sanctioned vessels that threaten the security and stability of the Western Hemisphere.”

Pete Hegseth, the US war secretary, wrote on social media site X: “The blockade of sanctioned and illicit Venezuelan oil remains in FULL EFFECT — anywhere in the world.”

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

“We don’t comment on the operational activity by other nations, including third-party use of UK bases,” the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said.

Asked if there was any involvement by UK forces, the spokesman said: “I’m not going to comment on speculation.”

The tanker appeared to be sailing north-east between Iceland and the UK on Wednesday.

Flight tracking websites showed US special operations aircraft landing at a Scottish airport, Wick John O’Groats, before flying further north towards Iceland on Wednesday.

The U-28A aircraft are used by the US Air Force’s special operations command and are used for intelligence-gathering and co-ordinating other aircraft.

P8 Poseidon submarine-hunting aircraft and KC-135 refuelling planes have also been seen on flight tracking websites, heading to the area near the tanker.

A British military transport aircraft, an Atlas A400M, could also be seen in the vicinity of the vessel, having left Brize Norton on Wednesday.

Earlier on Tuesday, an RAF RC-135W Rivet Joint surveillance plane was seen flying over the path of the tanker.

The end to the weeks-long US pursuit of the tanker comes after the Trump administration’s weekend raid on Venezuela, which led to the removal and capture of its then president Nicolas Maduro.

Ahead of the Marinera’s seizure, Kremlin adviser and former Russian deputy foreign minister Andrei Fedorov warned such a move would be considered an attack on Russia.

“For Russia, it’s a very important thing, because if there will be attack from US, it will be considered as attack on Russia, and it could lead to very critical or maybe even crisis situation in relations between Russia and US,” he told BBC Radio 4’s World At One programme.

Mr Fedorov said Russian submarines speeding towards the tanker would not fire on the US forces but could cause “technical difficulties” such as a “slight collision”.

He said the Marinera was registered in Sochi within hours after it painted a Russian flag on its side to change flags from Venezuelan to Russian.