Ah, the saga of the Voyage of the Bella 1/Marinera has taken another wild turn.
First interdicted in mid-December by the United States Coast Guard in the Caribbean while steaming toward Venezuela, the unregistered (a very important fact) Bella 1 turned tail and lit out toward the open ocean in response to a completely legitimate US demand to stop for boarding and inspection.
...Now, as facts concerning the Bella 1 have come out, all the objections have predictably died down, as this is a legal maritime action. The Bella 1 has a sketchy history of transporting, aka smuggling, Iranian oil as part of that massive shadow fleet, faking its position, and doing ship-to-ship transfers in open water at sea. At the time she was spotted by the US forces in the area, the vessel was unregistered - in other words, not flying a national flag - so she was fair game for boarding and inspection under international maritime law.
And the trans-Atlantic chase was on, with US forces aboard the Coast Guard cutter Munro shadowing the tanker's progress but lacking sufficient personnel trained in tactical boarding procedures to execute a seizure.
The Bella 1's crew wasn't wasting any of their time at sea playing shuffleboard, either. They were busy sending out multiple distress calls to anyone who'd listen, and then a couple of them got busy with brushes and paint cans.
It seems that the underway vessel suddenly had acquired Russian registration in an effort to fend off the Americans pursuing her.
WAIT, WHUT
...But doing the same on the Marinera is very different and has much higher stakes. While the Skipper was sailing under the flag of Guyana, the Marinera is Russian registered and flagged.
That is a recent development: the tanker’s crew hurriedly painted a Russian flag on the hull last month. Moscow later lodged a formal diplomatic protest demanding that Washington halt its high-seas pursuit.
The Russians were also seemingly willing to lodge a diplomatic protest over their recent rusty acquisition. Now, that might not be all that peculiar - according to reports, the Russians have been flagging formerly dark oil carriers at sea now in answer to Trump's Venezuelan oil blockade. In effect, the bear pokes back a little.
...It is not the only tanker operating in Venezuelan waters to be reflagged under the Russian banner in recent weeks. By putting its own flag on some former shadow fleet tankers, Moscow has in effect moved shadow fleet vessels out of the shadows, in an open challenge to the west.
However, as Ed's post the other day chronicled, things began to get wildly out of hand as the Bella 1, now rechristened the Marinera, took a hard left turn and headed toward the frigid waters of the North Atlantic.
As the scow steamed into the frozen north - and make no mistake, it is a scow -
The most shocking revelation of American Delta Force capturing a Russian oil tanker leaving Venezuela is how big of a hunk of sħít their oil tankers are. My lord pic.twitter.com/GA6TJi29sC
— boxingMD (@BoxingMD1) January 7, 2026
...was why such a bucket of bolts was so desperately on the lam that they'd run north, where obviously a Mediterranean/Middle Eastern to Caribbean transit crew wasn't prepared for the possible weather, not to mention the boat itself.
And why on earth would the Russians be sending maritime assets to protect it?
...The Wall Street Journal reports today that the Russians have decided to escalate the situation:
Russia has sent a submarine and other naval assets to escort an empty, rusting oil tanker that has become a new flashpoint in U.S.-Russia relations, according to a U.S. official. ...
Even more astonishing among the 'things that make you go hmmm' happening was the simultaneous build-up of US forces in the UK.
Wait a minute, here - who are all these helicopters for?
The British media was going nuts (Thanks to GlobalTrvlr) with speculation...
...and then word came that the US had indeed stormed aboard and taken control of the redubbed Marinera.
More Footage: US seizes Venezuela/Russia-linked oil tanker Marinera (Bella 1), sailing under a Russian flag, in the North Atlantic after a weeks-long pursuit, US officials say. https://t.co/Mpj5iBHp2B pic.twitter.com/O1t5wMascC
— GeoTechWar (@geotechwar) January 7, 2026
Hang in there - the surprises that deepen the mystery keep coming.
Remember how Starmer had stopped sharing British Caribbean region intelligence with the US because of the strikes on the drug-running boats, the tanker seizures, and just his general wussie boy squeamishness about anything remotely aggressive? Remember?
And when the US went in and got Maduro, the first thing Starmer did was throw his hands up on the telly and say, 'We didn't have anything to do with that!'?
Guess what that same Prime Minister came out with right after the US announced they'd taken the Marinera.
WE DID THAT, ALL IN COMPLIANCE WITH INTERNATIONAL LAW
Today, the UK has provided enabling support to the United States at their request to interdict the vessel Bella 1. pic.twitter.com/9QveMnwZBa
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) January 7, 2026
Right? A sudden British 180, over a derelict dark fleet oil tanker, hightailing it out of the Caribbean.
Make it make sense because it doesn't so far.
And right on its heels, another swift revelation that makes you ask, 'WHAT was on that boat?'
Sounds like there were Russians onboard the Bella 1/Marinera, and the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs very quickly issued a statement saying they want them returned to Russia ASAP.
— Maria Drutska 🇺🇦 (@maria_drutska) January 7, 2026
How interesting. Guys, who do you think these Russians are that were onboard this tanker?🤔 pic.twitter.com/oEv8ctf3l1
Russia's who, WHAT?
Well, according to the first reports, they are tagged as Russian 'irregular security guards.'
The seizure of a Russian-linked oil tanker in the North Atlantic has highlighted "worry" among NATO and Nordic-Baltic governments over dark fleet vessels and the type of crews onboard, according to a maritime intelligence analyst.
U.S. military and Coast Guard personnel boarded the Marinera between Iceland and the U.K. Wednesday as it operated under deceptive shipping practices, including flying a false flag and violating sanctions.
...Windward maritime intelligence analyst Michelle Wiese Bockmann claimed the Marinera’s ownership had just been transferred to Burevestmarin LLC, a Russian company.
..."The Marinera did have its ownership transferred to a newly formed Russian company, with the registered owner, ship manager and commercial manager being Burevestmarin LLC."
She also suggested NATO and the Nordic-Baltic 8+ group of governments have been "worried" about sanctioned oil tankers with unauthorized personnel onboard, including "armed guards."
So it seems as if they formed the company to flag the tanker.
Very interesting...to everyone.
Why this rush and why this boat?
Reflagged by Russia, spied on by UK, seized by US: why so much interest in a rusty tanker in the Atlantic?
A massive, rusty crude oil tanker floating north through the Atlantic has become the centre of global interest after it was followed for days and eventually seized by US forces while Russia’s military rushed towards it.
Despite not carrying any oil, the 300-metre-long ship is clearly of value. Theories for why range from speculation that high-value Russian weapons are hidden in the hull, to the ship’s potential to become a symbolic trophy in a transatlantic power struggle between Washington and Moscow.
...The Marinera has been under sanctions from the US treasury since June 2024 over accusations of carrying illicit cargo for Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group.
So much time, money, and international effort expended, with the Russians acknowledging that there are Russian 'citizens' aboard?
...For days, US surveillance planes had been monitoring the ship, and a British Royal Air Force spy plane appears to have flown over its path. Flight-tracking platforms showed an RAF RC-135W Rivet Joint surveillance plane leaving the Waddington airbase in Lincolnshire on Tuesday towards the same area of the Atlantic as the ship.
The UK military said it provided “pre-planned operational support, including basing”. And in recent days tracking data and spotters had shown a sudden influx of US military, including the C-17 Globemaster III, which can carry helicopters, raising speculation about an imminent special operations mission against the Marinera.
Speaking before US forces boarded the ship, John Foreman, a former UK defence attache to Moscow, said the scale of the US monitoring of the tanker and apparent preparations for its seizure by moving aircraft to the nearby UK was eye-catching.
“Why have the US put all these assets into the UK just for some oil tanker?” said the former official, now a defence analyst. “Could it be Russian arms going to Venezuela?”
It almost makes you wonder if there was a Jack Ryan clone asleep overhead on a flight last night, coming back to the States with a stuffed animal in his arms.
Maybe they're not done tearing the boat apart yet. These things take time, especially if they found something akin to whatever it was caused this almighty YUGE ruckus to begin with.
The worst thing is, we'll probably never know the whole story, and it sure sounds like it's a hummer.
Rats.
Beege ADDS:
Sorry. Had to.
🎶 “What shall we do with a Russian tanker,
— Benedict Spence (@BenedictSpence) January 7, 2026
What shall we do with a Russian tanker,
What shall we do with a Russian tanker,
Early in the morning?” 🎶 https://t.co/nAY0AUZnbi pic.twitter.com/3uZkftPGbK
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