The U.S. was attempting on Wednesday to seize a Russian-flagged oil tanker being shadowed by a Russian submarine, after a more than two-week-long pursuit across the Atlantic as part of a U.S. "blockade" of Venezuelan oil exports, two U.S. officials told Reuters, APA reports.
This appeared to be the first time in recent memory that the U.S. military has attempted to seize a Russian-flagged vessel.
The seizure effort, which was first reported by Reuters, came after the tanker, originally known as the Bella-1, slipped through a U.S. maritime blockade of sanctioned tankers in the Caribbean and rebuffed U.S. Coast Guard efforts to board it.
The officials, who were speaking on condition of anonymity, said Wednesday's operation near Iceland was being carried out by the Coast Guard and U.S. military.
The Pentagon and Coast Guard did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The officials said Russian military vessels were in the general vicinity of the operation, including a Russian submarine. It was unclear how close the vessels were to the operation, but there were no indications of a confrontation between U.S. and Russian military forces.
There was no immediate comment from Moscow. However, Russian state media outlet RT published an image of a helicopter hovering near the ship.
The operation took place just days after U.S. special forces swooped into Caracas before dawn on Saturday in a deadly raid to seize President Nicolas Maduro and take him to the United States. The U.S. military turned him over to federal authorities for prosecution on charges involving alleged drug trafficking.
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17:05
The United States is attempting to seize a Venezuela-linked oil tanker after a more than two-week-long pursuit across the Atlantic, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Wednesday, APA reports.
The seizure, which could stoke tensions with Russia, came after the tanker, originally known as the Bella-1, slipped through a U.S. maritime "blockade" of sanctioned tankers and rebuffed U.S. Coast Guard efforts to board it.
The officials, who were speaking on condition of anonymity, said the operation is being carried out by the Coast Guard and the U.S. military.
They added that Russian military vessels were in the general vicinity when the operation took place, including a Russian submarine.
The tanker, now known as the Marinera and registered under a Russian flag, is the latest tanker targeted by the U.S. Coast Guard since the start of U.S. President Donald Trump's pressure campaign against Venezuela.
Separately, the U.S. Coast Guard has also intercepted another Venezuela-linked tanker in Latin American waters, U.S. officials told Reuters, as the U.S. continues enforcing a maritime "blockade" of sanctioned vessels from Venezuela.
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