A tanker that attempted to evade a US naval blockade of Venezuela and was being tracked by American surveillance aircraft has been spotted off the coast of Ireland. The vessel, now named Marinera and registered in Russia, previously operated as Bella 1 under a Guyanese flag.
Flight records show US P-8 surveillance aircraft from RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk have been monitoring the ship as it crossed the Atlantic. The tanker changed its name and painted a crude Russian flag on its side in an apparent attempt to prevent seizure near the British Isles.
The Marinera is one of about a dozen oil tankers trying to escape a US quarantine on Venezuelan oil. It was approached by the US Coast Guard on 20 December but refused boarding and fled. Since then, it re-registered in Russia and turned off its tracking transponders before heading north.
US transport flights into RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire have sparked speculation that helicopters could be used in a possible special forces operation to seize the tanker. The ship had been under US sanctions since July 2024 for allegedly carrying illicit cargo linked to Hezbollah.
According to TankerTrackers, Bella 1 previously transported millions of barrels of Iranian and Venezuelan crude to China. The US imposed a 'quarantine' on Venezuelan oil after the capture of President Nicolás Maduro, who faces drug trafficking charges in the US.
