The US is attempting to seize a US-sanctioned oil tanker after a more than two-week-long pursuit across the Atlantic.
US officials told Reuters of the attempted seizure on Wednesday morning, as Russian state broadcaster RT said that it looked like US forces were trying to board the tanker from a helicopter and published an image of a helicopter hovering near the ship.
Reuters could not immediately verify the RT report.
RT cited an unnamed source as saying that a US coast guard vessel had been following the tanker and that an attempt to seize it during a storm had already been carried out.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has been cited by state media as saying that the ship, the Marinera, which is now flying the Russian flag, is in international waters and acting according to international maritime law. It has called on Western countries to respect the vessel’s right to freedom of navigation.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that Russia had deployed a submarine and other naval vessels to escort an empty, ageing oil tanker that has been trying to evade the US blockade near Venezuela, citing a US official.
The tanker, formerly known as Bella 1, has been evading interception since the US Coast Guard attempted to board and seize it in December, following Washington’s blockade of sanctioned oil shipments to and from Venezuela.
Russia has asked the US to stop pursuing the vessel, the Wall Street Journal said, citing three other US officials.
Ireland
US-pursued oil tanker set to enter Irish waters amid Trump crackdown on Venezuelan oil
Reuters could not immediately verify this report. The White House and the US Coast Guard did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside regular hours.
On Tuesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said it was monitoring the situation surrounding the tanker “with concern”, the Journal said, citing Russian state news agency RIA.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday unveiled a plan to refine and sell up to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil that had been stuck in Venezuela under U.S. blockade, in a further sign that Washington is coordinating with the Venezuelan government since capturing President Nicolas Maduro in a raid last weekend.
Additional reporting by Ottoline Spearman