Washington DC [US], January 8: The US military said on Wednesday it had seized and boarded two oil tankers with links to Venezuela in the North Atlantic and the Caribbean, in a move that heightens tensions after the US operation to oust Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.
US European Command first announced that the Russian-flagged oil tanker Bella 1 had been seized near Iceland on the order of a federal court for violating US sanctions.
A short time later, US Southern Command said the Coast Guard had taken control of the Sophia, a stateless tanker, in the Caribbean.
The command accused the vessel's operators of "conducting illicit activities" that "threaten the security and stability of the Western Hemisphere."US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem tied both vessels to Venezuela, writing that they "were either last docked in Venezuela or en route to it."
The Bella 1 had attempted to evade the Coast Guard for weeks, Noem said in a post on X, "even changing its flag and painting a new name on the hull while being pursued, in a desperate and failed attempt to escape justice." The early Wednesday morning operations were coordinated with the US Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the Coast Guard.
The Russian Foreign Ministry is demanding the unhindered return home of the sailors on the Russian-flagged oil tanker seized by US forces in the North Atlantic.
The ministry said on Wednesday that it was closely monitoring the situation, according to Russian news agencies.
"In view of reports that Russian citizens are among the crew, we demand that the American side ensure their humane and dignified treatment, strictly protect their rights and interests, and not hinder their return home as quickly as possible," the statement said.
The Russian Ministry of Transport also criticized the US action, citing the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. According to this, no state has the right to obstruct the free passage of duly registered ships in international waters.
Washington accuses the vessels of operating as part of a so-called "ghost" or "shadow" fleet used to transport illicit oil.
Source: Qatar Tribune