Nuclear war 'could be just one step away' after Trump's Atlantic ship raid, Putin propagandist warns as new video shows US coast guard chasing down rogue tanker | Retrui News | Retrui
Nuclear war 'could be just one step away' after Trump's Atlantic ship raid, Putin propagandist warns as new video shows US coast guard chasing down rogue tanker
SOURCE:Daily Mail
The video shows the USCGC Munro pursuring the Russian-flagged Marinera vessel, previously called Bella 1, in an operation in the North Atlantic.
Nuclear war 'could be just one step away' after Donald Trump's daring seizure of a Moscow-bound sanctioned oil tanker, one of Vladimir Putin's propagandists has warned.
The video shows the USCGC Munro pursuing the Russian-flagged Marinera vessel, previously called Bella 1, in an operation in Icelandic waters that saw Donald Trump's latest power play against the Russian dictator.
RAF aircraft were involved in the operation to seize the tanker and UK airbases were used as launchpads for US military aircraft.
Alexander Kots, a veteran pro-government correspondent for the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper, wrote on Telegram that 'nuclear war could be just one step away' following reports of the US operation.
Moscow's transport ministry confirmed that all contact with the ship had been lost and condemned its seizure as a 'violation of international law'.
Another Venezuela-linked tanker, Sophia, was seized by the US in the Caribbean on Wednesday, after both vessels were accused of evading sanctions.
New footage has emerged showing the US Coast Guard chasing down the rogue vessel linked to Venezuelan oil before seizing it during a dramatic commando-style raid
The video shows the USCGC Munro pursuring the Russian-flagged Marinera vessel, previously called Bella 1, in an operation in the North Atlantic
The Ministry of Defence insisted Britain’s assistance in seizing Marinera was 'in full compliance with international law'.
The UK government sought to distance itself from the vessel's Venezuela link, insisting its involvement was part of a broader crackdown on the Kremlin's shadow fleet.
Defence Secretary John Healey said: 'Today our UK Armed Forces showed skill and professionalism in support of a successful US interception of the vessel Bella 1 while on its way to Russia.
'This action formed part of global efforts to crack down on sanctions busting.
'This ship, with a nefarious history, is part of a Russian-Iranian axis of sanctions evasion which is fuelling terrorism, conflict, and misery from the Middle East to Ukraine.
A Poseidon MRA1, an RAF maritime patrol aircraft, and a naval supply ship, RFA Tideforce, were among the British military assets that took part in the seizure.
An RAF Rivet Joint surveillance aircraft was also deployed on Tuesday to gather information on the vessel.
Responding to the operation, Putin ally Zhuravlev said: 'We need to provide a military response: attack with torpedoes or sink a couple of American boats.
'The seizure of a civilian vessel by the armed US Navy is nothing short of piracy.'
The vessel tanker Bella 1 pictured at Singapore Strait in a photo taken from social media on March 18, 2025
Pictures in Russian media purportedly showed helicopters approaching the vessel on Wednesday
Dramatic photos in Russian media purportedly showed a helicopter, understood to be an American MH-6 Little Bird, swooping close to the vessel before it was apprehended.
US forces had pursued it over several weeks after it apparently evaded what Trump described as the 'total naval blockade' of Venezuela put in place in December.
However, the tanker then abruptly changed course, renamed itself Marinera and was added to an official Russian ship database
At one point while being pursued, the crew of the vessel painted a Russian flag on its hull, claiming it was sailing under Russian protection, and Moscow made a formal diplomatic request that the US stop its chase.
Since 2020, the ship has had six names sailed under five country flags.
It is subject to anti-Iranian sanctions by Trump as part of efforts to prevent the regime in Tehran from profitting from oil.
The tanker was believed to be involved in illegal activity linked to Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militia based in Lebanon, acording to the MoD.
American forces captured a separate 'dark fleet' tanker called the M/T Sophia
It was 'operating in international waters and conducting illicit activities in the Caribbean Sea,' the US military said
The vessel was described as a 'stateless, sanctioned dark fleet motor tanker'
The sanctioned tanker was pursued 'across the high seas and through treacherous storms' before it was captured, the US Homeland Security Secretary said.
Kristi Noem said the seizure of this 'ghost fleet' vessel, and a separate tanker near the Caribbean, 'put the world’s criminals on notice'.
The tankers, the Marinera and the Sophia - were 'either last docked in Venezuela or en route to it'.
'You can run, but you can’t hide. We will never relent in our mission to protect the American people and disrupt the funding of narco-terrorism wherever we find it, period,' she said.
'This is our country’s greatest fighting force at their best. This is America first at sea.'
'One of these tankers, Motor Tanker Bella I, has been trying to evade the Coast Guard for weeks, even changing its flag and painting a new name on the hull while being pursued, in a desperate and failed attempt to escape justice,' Noem said.
Trump’s press secretary was asked whether the operation targetting the Russian-flagged vessel risked a deeper confrontation with Putin.
Speaking at the White House, Karoline Leavitt said the president would always enforce the policy that is best for the American people.
She added: 'And with respect to these ship seizures, that means enforcing the embargo against all "dark fleet" vessels that are illegally transporting oil and only legitimate commerce. That’s the policy of this administration, and he’s not afraid to implement it.'
The Marinera was seized as it travelled towards waters between Iceland and Scotland, apparently heading for the Russian Arctic port of Murmansk.
Following the operation, the US president criticised America’s Nato partners, despite the British support in the seizure.
'We will always be there for Nato, even if they won’t be there for us,' he wrote on his Truth Social site. 'The only nation that China and Russia fear and respect is the DJT [Donald J Trump] REBUILT USA. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!'
The US European Command said the US Department of Justice and Homeland Security have 'today announced the seizure of the M/V Bella 1 for violations of US sanctions'
In a post on X, they said the 'vessel was seized in the North Atlantic pursuant to a warrant issued by a US federal court after being tracked by USCGC Munro'
Russia dispatched navy assets to protect the sanctioned oil tanker as it crossed the Atlantic, amid mounting threats from the US to seize the vessel
Moscow had previously dispatched navy assets, including a submarine, to protect the sanctioned oil tanker as it crossed the Atlantic.
Following the operation, a humiliated Kremlin slammed the US.
'In accordance with the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, freedom of navigation applies in waters on the high seas, and no state has the right to use force against vessels duly registered under the jurisdiction of other states,' Russia's transport ministry said in a statement.
The vessel had received 'temporary permission' to sail under the Russian flag on December 24, the ministry said, adding that 'contact with the ship was lost' after US naval forces boarded it 'in the open sea, beyond the territorial waters of any state'.
Separately, the US Coast Guard has also intercepted another Venezuela-linked tanker in Latin American waters as America continues enforcing a maritime 'blockade' of sanctioned vessels from Venezuela.
Sources told Reuters that the vessel was Panama-flagged supertanker M/T Sophia, which is under sanctions.
The ship, a 'stateless, sanctioned dark fleet motor tanker', was seized by the American military in a pre-dawn operation.
'The interdicted vessel, M/T Sophia, was operating in international waters and conducting illicit activities in the Caribbean Sea,' the US military said in a statement.
'The US Coast Guard is escorting M/T Sophia to the US for final disposition.'
The Marinera and the Sophia are two examples of more than 1,000 vessels considered to be part of the 'shadow fleet' or 'dark fleet': ships that transport oil from Russia, Iran and Venezuela in violation of sanctions, using deceptive tactics to avoid detection.
In the same week that the Bella 1 changed its name and adopted a Russian flag, a second ship operating in Venezuela, the Hyperion, made a similar change.
In recent days, at least three additional oil vessels that operated in Venezuelan waters have similarly switched to Russian flags, extending a pattern of reflagging among ships under US sanctions.
The capturing of the Marinera follows an operation last month when the US Coast Guard led a dramatic raid on The Skipper, a tanker used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran.
Ten days later, another vessel named the Centuries carrying Venezuelan oil was halted and boarded, but not seized.
Sir Keir Starmer spoke to the US president on Wednesday evening following the operation.
'They discussed the joint operation to intercept the Bella 1 as part of shared efforts to crack down on sanctions busting, recent progress on Ukraine and the US operation in Venezuela,' said Number 10. 'The PM also set out his position on Greenland.'
The operation came a few days after Nicolás Maduro, the president of Venezuela, was captured in a lightning US miilitary raid on his fortified residence in Caracas.
The dictator was arrested and accused of overseeing a cocaine-trafficking network with international drug cartels.
He faces four criminal counts: narco-terrorism, cocaine importation conspiracy and possession of machine guns and destructive devices.
'I am innocent. I am not guilty. I am a decent man. I am still president of my country,' Maduro, 63, said on Monday through an interpreter, before being cut off by US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein in Manhattan federal court.
Maduro's wife, Cilia Flores, also pleaded not guilty. The next court date was set for March 17.
On Tuesday night, Trump announced a deal with the Venezuelan regime to give the US 30 to 50 million barrels of oil which could be worth up to $2billion.
The president has openly stated that the military operation to depose Maduro this past weekend was, in part, an attempt to extract some of oil-rich Venezuela's stock.
'I am pleased to announce that the Interim Authorities in Venezuela will be turning over between 30 and 50 MILLION Barrels of High Quality, Sanctioned Oil, to the United States of America,' he posted to Truth Social.
Trump also announced that he will be in control of the money made off sales - which at market price, could be worth up to $2billion according to Reuters - of the oil.
'This Oil will be sold at its Market Price, and that money will be controlled by me, as President of the United States of America, to ensure it is used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States!'
Trump has placed Energy Secretary Chris Wright in charge of executing the plan which is scheduled to begin immediately.
'It will be taken by storage ships, and brought directly to unloading docks in the United States,' he wrote.