Who owns the oil tanker seized by the US and what is its connection to the annexed Crimean Peninsula?

The Marinera (formerly Bella 1) tanker detained by the US military in the Atlantic belongs to a recently established Russian company and is controlled by a businessman originally from annexed Crimea, according to an investigation by Novaia Gazeta Europa.

Oil tanker Mrinera/PHOTO: X

The ship is owned by the company “Burevestmarin”, registered in Ryazan only six months ago. The director and sole owner is Ilia Bugai, an entrepreneur from annexed Crimea who currently lives in Moscow. He also holds the position of general director of the company “Rusneftehimtorg”, specialized in the trade of petroleum products.

Crew under investigation in the US

According to The New York Times, the crew of the oil tanker includes citizens of Russia and Ukraine. Russian Telegram channels claim that only two crew members are Russian citizens and the ship's captain has Georgian citizenship.

After the capture of the tanker, the Russian Foreign Ministry asked the United States “not to prevent the return home” of the Russian citizens on board and to ensure their humane treatment.

Instead, US Attorney General and Attorney General Pam Bondi said the crew members were under criminal investigation. “Following the Coast Guard's failure to comply, the crew of this vessel is subject to a full investigation and criminal charges will be brought against all those responsible,” Bondi wrote on the X Network.

For her part, the spokeswoman of the White House, Karoline Leavitt, stated that the US Coast Guard has a court order authorizing the seizure of the ship, an order that also applies to the crew. This allows crew members to be transported to the United States and prosecuted.

Detention of the vessel

The Marinera tanker was detained on January 7 by US forces, with the support of Great Britain, in an area of ​​the Atlantic located between Iceland and the Faroe Islands. After the interception, the ship was escorted to the north coast of Scotland.

At the time of the capture, the tanker was sailing under the Russian flag, having been re-registered in Russia at the end of December. The Russian Ministry of Transport confirmed the detention of the ship by the US authorities and condemned the action.

A vessel under sanctions

Marinera has been under US sanctions since 2024, accused of transporting Iranian oil. According to US authorities, the ship left Iran in August 2025 and headed for Venezuela, where light Iranian oil is used to dilute much heavier Venezuelan crude.

In mid-December, as it approached the coast of Venezuela, the tanker was sailing without a national flag and was considered “stateless”. On December 21, the US military tried to intercept it in the Caribbean Sea, but the crew turned off the GPS systems and turned the ship back into the Atlantic. The transponder was only restarted on January 1.

After the attempted capture, the sailors drew a Russian flag on the board and announced that the ship had passed under the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation. The tanker was renamed Marinera and registered in the Russian Maritime Register, with port of registration in Sochi. The Russian Ministry of Transport confirmed that these changes were made on December 24, 2025.

International reactions

After the change of flag, the Kremlin asked the United States to stop pursuing the ship and sent a diplomatic note to that effect. However, the American operation continued. Russian media reported that Moscow would have sent a submarine and other military vessels to the area for escort, but without succeeding in preventing the capture.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry, with China being one of the destinations for Venezuelan oil, said the detention of the tanker “gravely violates international law” and reiterated Beijing's opposition to sanctions that are not approved by the UN Security Council.

In December, the United States announced that it would intercept and detain oil tankers involved in Venezuelan oil exports that violate the sanctions regime. Since then, several ships have already been detained.