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Russia lodges formal protest with United States over “Marinera” vessel

08 January 2026 16:26 (UTC +04:00)

The seizure of the tanker Marinera and the capture of its crew cannot be interpreted in any way other than as a gross violation of the fundamental principles and norms of international maritime law, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement, APA’s Moscow bureau reports.

The Russian Foreign Ministry described the threats by the U.S. authorities to take legal action against the ship’s crew as “absolutely unacceptable.”

It was noted that the United States, including through channels of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, had repeatedly received reliable information about the vessel’s Russian affiliation and its civilian, peaceful status: “They could have had no doubts about this, just as there are no grounds whatsoever to put forward the assumption that the tanker was sailing ‘without a flag’ or ‘under a false flag.’”

The Russian Foreign Ministry also stated that other countries might be “inspired” by the U.S. example of Marinera: “Russia considers the United States’ references to American ‘sanctions legislation’ in connection with the Marinera incident to be unfounded. Russia has officially lodged a protest with the United States over the pursuit of the Marinera vessel.”