Maritime experts note that a legal reflagging typically takes several weeks and involves testing, inspection and certification of tracking equipment.
The rapid change of the Bella 1 flag indicates that standard checks were probably not carried out, the media writes.
WP quoted Gonzalo Saiz, a sanctions researcher at the Royal United Services Institute, as noting that it was expected that the US would not search Russian-flagged vessels. According to him, the capture of Bella 1 demonstrates to the international community the US willingness to act regardless of the ship’s flag.
Context
US troops in December pursued three tankers believed to be carrying Venezuelan oil. One of them, called Skipper, was stopped and detained by the coast guard on December 10 on its way to China. Second, Centuries, US Coast Guard took control December 20. Third, Bella 1, then ran awayand later received Russian registration and the name Marinera.
According to the NYT, oil tankers from Venezuela are trying to circumvent the US blockade by masking their real location or turning off data signals.
The US military seized the tanker Marinera on January 7 in the Atlantic Ocean near Iceland. The Russian ships that were nearby at that time did not interfere with the American special operation.
