The United Kingdom offered military support to the United States in the operation to capture the Russian oil tanker “Marinera” in the North Atlantic area, on Wednesday, the British Ministry of Defense announced. On the other hand, Russia denounced a violation of international navigation rules, reports international press agencies, quoted by Agerpres.
The oil tanker, originally named “Bella 1” and under US sanctions from 2024 for alleged ties to Iran, was being pursued by the US Coast Guard since December 21. It was moving without cargo to Venezuela, and had managed to escape a first American interception attempt.
In the meantime, it was renamed “Marinera”, being registered in Russia, and flying the Russian flag. The ship was located on Wednesday morning in the North Atlantic area, where it was intercepted by the US Navy, although Russia had sent at least one military ship or submarine to the area to escort it. At the same time, he warned the USA and other Western states to respect the freedom of navigation in international waters.
The operation to intercept the oil tanker took place with British operational support, the Ministry of Defense in London admitted, after reports in this regard appeared in the press. “The British Armed Forces provided planned operational support, including the use of its bases by American units that intercepted the oil tanker Bella 1, in the area between Great Britain, Iceland and Greenland, following a request for assistance from the United States,” the British Ministry of Defense said in a statement.
The MoD statement confirms suspected UK involvement after an RAF surveillance plane was spotted by flight tracking sites over the area where the Bella 1/Marinera was seized.
The UK said it had provided one of its largest supply ships – the RFA Tideforce – to support the US operation.
Moscow denounced “illegal” interception
In a first reaction from Moscow, the Russian Ministry of Transport confirmed that it had lost contact with the “Marinera” oil tanker and denounced its “illegal interception” in international waters, an action it considers a violation of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
“According to the rules of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the regime of freedom of navigation applies in the high seas, and no state has the right to use force against ships legally registered in the jurisdictions of third states,” the Russian ministry emphasized. It stated that the “Marinera” oil tanker received “temporary permission to sail under the Russian flag on December 24, 2015, permission granted in accordance with Russian legislation and international law”.
For its part, the Russian Foreign Ministry asked the United States for “humane and dignified treatment” for the crew members of the seized oil tanker, some of whom are Russian citizens, and to allow their rapid repatriation.
