The U.S. is carrying out an operation to seize the Marinera, a Venezuela-linked oil tanker formerly known as Bella-1, sources told CBS News on Wednesday.
The U.S. has been following the tanker since last month, CBS News first reported on Monday. The pursuit began during a pressure campaign on former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who was captured by U.S. forces last weekend. Two other oil tankers were seized by the U.S. last month.
The Marinera — which has historically carried Venezuelan crude oil and was sanctioned by the Treasury Department — was previously flagged out of Panama. Like other tankers that were seized, it was sanctioned by U.S. authorities for its prior involvement in Iranian oil trading. It is now sailing under the Russian flag.
A Russian submarine and other naval vessels had been deployed to escort the tanker as the U.S. followed it, two U.S. officials confirmed to CBS News on Tuesday.
The Russian Maritime Register of Shipping lists the tanker as being ported out of Sochi, off the western coast of the Black Sea. The New York Times reported that the Russian government officially had asked the U.S. to stop all attempts to interdict the ship.
Ships like the Marinera and The Skipper are part of a so-called shadow fleet of ships that illegally transport oil from sanctioned nations like Russia, Iran and Venezuela.
Maduro has rejected U.S. allegations about how the vessels are being used and accuses the U.S. of plundering Venezuelan resources under the cover of law enforcement.
