US attack on Venezuela Oil market

US Secretary: We have seized a second oil tanker

The US has seized a second oil tanker on Wednesday, writes Kristi Noem, Secretary of Homeland Security, on X.

In addition to the Russian-flagged oil tanker Marinera, formerly Bella 1, which was seized in the Atlantic, the ship Sophia has also been seized in international waters near the Caribbean Sea, she writes.

“Both ships [...] were either last moored in Venezuela or were en route there.”

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has also commented on the operation.

“The blockade against sanctioned and illegal Venezuelan oil is fully and completely in effect – everywhere in the world,” he writes.

Russia: No state has the right to do this

The Russian Ministry of Transportation confirms that they have lost contact with the oil tanker Marinera, which the US seized in the Atlantic, reports CNN.

The ministry condemns the US action and writes that “no state has the right to use force against ships registered under the jurisdiction of other states” according to the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Moscow demands that the US treat the Russian crew well and ensure that they are quickly returned home, state media reports.

Andrey Klisjas, a top member of Putin’s United Russia party, calls it “a pure act of piracy” according to Reuters.

Expert: A dramatic and spectacular development

The US seizing a Russian-flagged oil tanker in the Atlantic is a “dramatic and spectacular development”, says Flemming Splidsboel, a Russia expert at the Danish Institute for International Studies, to Danish DR.

– It is a Russian ship, and the Russians had of course hoped that ships that had been re-registered and given a Russian flag would be safe from American troops, he says.

The oil tanker, formerly known as Bella 1, was about 200 kilometres south of the coast of Iceland when it was seized. The US began pursuing it off Venezuela two weeks ago.

Britain provided support to the US in the preparations for the operation, the British Ministry of Defence said, according to Sky News. 

Russian crew could be brought to US and prosecuted

The White House press secretary is opening up the possibility that the crew of the Russian-flagged oil tanker seized in the Atlantic could be prosecuted in the US, Sky News reports.

– There were arrest warrants for the crew, so that means they are now liable for charges under federal law, and they can be brought to the US to stand trial if necessary.

The Kremlin has demanded that US authorities treat the crew well and ensure that they are allowed to return to Russia as quickly as possible.