❓WHAT HAPPENED: NATO forces and multiple nations are tracking an oil tanker, the Bella 1, which is evading a U.S. blockade on Venezuela by disguising itself as a Russian vessel.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: The United States, United Kingdom, France, Ireland, NATO forces, and the Venezuelan “shadow fleet” are key players in the operation. Russia has also become involved, claiming the vessel as its own.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The tanker is 250 miles off the coast of Ireland, and the operation to monitor it has intensified over recent days.
💬KEY QUOTE: “Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America,” said President Donald J. Trump on Truth Social.
🎯IMPACT: The situation raises tensions between the U.S. and Russia, with potential escalations if the U.S. attempts to seize the vessel, which is part of Venezuela’s sanctioned oil fleet.
NATO forces and several national militaries, including those of the United States, Britain, France, and Ireland, are closely monitoring an oil tanker linked to Venezuela that is attempting to evade a U.S. naval blockade. The vessel, formerly known as the Bella 1, has been renamed the Marinera and is now sailing under a Russian flag as part of what U.S. officials describe as Venezuela’s “shadow fleet” of sanctioned oil tankers.
The tanker was last reported roughly 250 miles off Ireland’s west coast, where surveillance aircraft from the United States, United Kingdom, France, and Ireland have been tracking its movements. According to intelligence sources cited by British media, the vessel fled the Caribbean last month to avoid capture by U.S. forces enforcing sanctions on Venezuelan oil exports. U.S. officials are said to be weighing whether to seize the ship, following a recent operation in which another Venezuelan tanker, the Skipper, was intercepted.
The ship is now listed in the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping and registered out of Sochi, Russia. Moscow has formally demanded that Washington halt any attempt to seize the vessel, a move that has heightened tensions between the two countries. Western intelligence agencies believe the tanker previously transported more than six million barrels of Iranian oil, frequently conducting ship-to-ship transfers at sea to obscure the origin and destination of its cargo.
The pursuit of the Bella 1 comes amid an expanded U.S. campaign targeting Venezuela’s sanctioned oil trade. President Donald J. Trump announced what he called a “total and complete” blockade of Venezuelan oil tankers, warning of escalating pressure on Caracas. “Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America,” he said, and added, “It will only get bigger, and the shock to them will be like nothing they have ever seen before.”
Since the blockade order, U.S. authorities have moved against multiple tankers tied to Venezuelan and Iranian oil shipments, signaling a broader effort to disrupt maritime networks used to bypass sanctions. U.S. forces have also captured Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro and taken him to New York to face trial on drug trafficking and narco-terrorism charges.
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