US halts seizure of oil tanker after Russian flag appears onboard

According to US officials, US Coast Guard vessels have been pursuing a large oil tanker in the Atlantic Ocean for more than 10 days, maintaining a distance of about half a mile (approximately 800 meters).

The military said special units are fully ready to carry out a forcible seizure of the vessel but are awaiting a green light from the White House. The situation became more complicated after a Russian flag was crudely painted on the hull of Bella 1.

Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the coast guard may seize vessels if they lack state affiliation or are suspected of fraud. When the pursuit began, the United States considered Bella 1 to be a vessel sailing under a false flag and therefore subject to a court seizure order.

Experts note that if the vessel were indeed legally re-registered in Russia, a forcible seizure would constitute a diplomatic escalation.

In Washington, there are concerns that Russia may have resorted to a ruse and retroactively registered the vessel without inspection to provoke a conflict. The United States is currently trying to clarify the tanker's status through diplomatic channels.

The tanker Bella 1 belongs to a Turkish company and was placed under US sanctions for transporting Iranian oil in the interests of terrorist organizations, including Hezbollah, the Yemeni Houthis, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The tanker is part of the so-called shadow fleet that transports sanctioned oil from Russia, Iran, and Venezuela.

On December 21, it became known that the tanker Bella 1, which was under US sanctions, had been seized near the coast of Venezuela. It was later established that the vessel was carrying oil belonging to Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA), which is also subject to US restrictions.