This screen grab taken from a video posted on the X account of US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem shows the Centuries crude oil tanker, last docked in Venezuela, as it is apprehended by the US Coast Guard on December 20, 2025. (AFP)

US forces board Venezuela-linked sanctioned oil tanker in North Atlantic, US official says

The Associated Press

Published: 07 January ,2026: 04:53 PM GST Updated: 07 January ,2026: 06:09 PM GST

2 min read

US forces have boarded a Venezuela-linked sanctioned oil tanker in the North Atlantic after pursuing it for weeks, a US official said.

The official spoke to The Associated Press on Wednesday on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations.

The official said the US military seized the vessel and handed over control to law enforcement officials.

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The US had been pursuing the tanker since last month after it tried to evade a US blockade on sanctioned oil vessels around Venezuela.

The ship was sanctioned by the US in 2024 for allegedly smuggling cargo for a company linked to Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. The US Coast Guard attempted to board it in the Caribbean in December as it headed for Venezuela. The ship refused boarding and headed across the Atlantic.

The ship, once known as the Bella 1, was renamed Marinera and flagged to Russia, shipping databases show.

Earlier Wednesday, open-source maritime tracking sites showed its position as between Scotland and Iceland, traveling north. The US official also confirmed the ship was in the North Atlantic.

US military planes have flown over the vessel, and on Tuesday a Royal Air Force surveillance plane was shown on flight-tracking sites flying over the same area.

The tanker’s seizure comes just days after US military forces conducted a surprise nighttime raid on Venezuela’s capital of Caracas and capturing President Nicolas Maduro and his wife.

In the wake of this raid, Trump administration officials have said that they intended to continue to seize sanctioned vessels connected to the country.