A hastily reflagged oil tanker about 250 miles off the coast of Ireland is under US military surveillance after it evaded capture in the Caribbean Sea in December, changed its name and switched course towards northern Russia.
The vessel, formerly known as Bella 1, has been renamed Marinera and registered in Russia, with a crude Russian flag painted on its side, in an apparent attempt to prevent a possible US seizure near the British Isles. Flight records show it has been closely monitored over the last two days by US P-8 surveillance aircraft flying from RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk as it crossed the Atlantic, on a course that may cut into Ireland's economic waters.
A series of US C-17 transport flights into RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire has prompted speculation they are carrying helicopters that could be used by US special forces to take the ship. Two AC-130 gunships were also filmed arriving at Mildenhall on Sunday. The tanker had been preparing to pick up oil from Venezuela last month before the US Coast Guard approached it on 20 December on suspicion that its country of registration was not valid. The crew refused to allow it to be boarded and the vessel fled, re-registering as the Marinera in the Russian port of Sochi.
The ship had been under sanctions by the US Treasury since July 2024, accused of involvement in carrying illicit cargo for a company owned by Hezbollah. Data collected by TankerTrackers said Bella 1 had previously transported 7.3m barrels of Iranian crude and 3.7m barrels of Venezuelan crude oil to China between October 2021 and September 2025.
The surveillance comes after Washington announced a “quarantine” on Venezuelan oil following the capture of Venezuela's president, Nicolás Maduro, by US Delta Force soldiers on Saturday morning. The operation was part of a naval blockade, which Secretary of State Marco Rubio described as one of the biggest in modern history. At least 16 oil tankers have reportedly tried to break out over the past two days, using fake ship names and misrepresenting positions. The Venezuelan government has accused the US of “piracy” but has also called for a “balanced and respectful” relationship.
