'Run, but you can't hide': US-sanctioned oil tanker's two-week chase at sea
When a US-sanctioned oil tanker originally bound for Venezuela abruptly changed course, it set off a dramatic chase at sea.
Crew on board a US-sanctioned oil tanker changed the vessel's name and hastily gave it a new paint job as they tried to escape the coast guard.
The Marinera, previously called the Bella 1, was originally bound for Venezuela.
But the vessel abruptly changed course to avoid a US blockade in December, setting off a dramatic two-week chase at sea.
Coast Guard crew "pursued this vessel across the high seas and through treacherous storms — keeping diligent watch," United States Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said.
The US Coast Guard cutter Munro shadows the runaway oil tanker in the North Atlantic Ocean. (Department of Defense via AP)
Overnight, the pursuit came to a head.
Flying under a Russian flag, the ship was descended upon in the North Atlantic between Iceland and Britain.
"You can run, but you can't hide," the White House posted on X.
How the chase unfolded
This is how the chase unfolded, according to ship-tracking data and accounts from US and United Kingdom officials.
Bella 1 was sanctioned by the US in 2024 and subjected to a seizure warrant, accused of illegally transporting Iranian oil.
Washington said the vessel was part of a so-called shadow fleet, or ghost fleet, carrying oil for countries such as Venezuela, Russia and Iran to avoid sanctions on oil.
The Bella 1 was renamed the Marinera, and added to an official Russian shipping registry. (Reuters: Hakon Rimmereid)
Bella 1 began its journey in November last year, sailing from the Gulf of Oman, through the Suez Canal and Strait of Gibraltar, before crossing the Atlantic in early December.
It was approaching the Caribbean Sea at a time of increasing hostilities between the US and Venezuela.
The US had built up a significant military presence in the region, carrying out dozens of strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean.
Then on December 10, the Trump administration seized its first oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela.
"We've just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela, a large tanker, very large — the largest one ever seized actually," US President Donald Trump told reporters.
Days later, Bella 1 abruptly turned and headed north toward Europe.
Mr Trump went on to order "a total and complete" blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela.