Absorbed on "Bella 1" tanker in the Atlantic

In the waters of the North Atlantic, a tanker was boarded Bella 1 conducted by American naval forces. The operation was the culmination of a ten-day pursuit of an individual suspected of violating a sanctioning regime against the oil trade.

What you can see from the recordings

According to video material published on the network, during the operation of the tanker, US helicopters operated and the control of the unit was taken over by the boarding team. U.S. Navy warships were also present in the area of the event, confirming the planned nature of the actions and their full security.

The available materials indicate that a dynamic boarding procedure, characteristic of Maritime Interdiction Operations operations, was used as a final stage escalation agent.

The American authorities have confirmed boarding the ship. United States Armed Forces Command in Europe reported that the seizure of the tanker M/V Bella 1 occurred in the North Atlantic on the basis of a court order, having previously tracked the unit by the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Munro. The operation was conducted by the U.S. Coast Guard in cooperation with other components of the U.S. Armed Forces.

According to U.S. communications, the boarding was carried out without using force, and the crew of the unit did not resist.

Legal basis for US action

However, there are doubts about the legal basis for American intervention in the media space, including some experts and Navy officers. The United States is not party to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and Venezuelan carbohydrates are not subject to UN Security Council sanctions, but only unilateral US sanctions. In this context, enforcement in international waters by force is assessed as controversial from the point of view of international law, as some officers and maritime lawyers raise.

Reports of Russian ships present

In initial media coverage, there was information suggesting the presence of Russian warships near the tanker to be sent to escort it. However, these reports were denied by representatives of the U.S. administration, who in talks with the U.S. media denied that Russian units had arrived in the area of the operation before the US side took over the tanker.

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on the other hand, stated that the ship was under the Russian flag and was in international waters, calling on the Western States to respect the principles of freedom of navigation.

Further detention of "shadow float" units

Detention Bella 1 / Marinera was not the only action of this type. The South Command of the United States has also reported the takeover of a stateless tanker Sophiawho operated in the Caribbean Sea and was involved in the illegal transportation of raw materials. The unit was directed under the escort of the U.S. Coast Guard to a port in the United States for further proceedings.

The American administration underlines that the blockade of illegal trafficking in sanctioned oil, including Venezuelan oil, remains fully enforced regardless of the world region.

Pursuit of a tanker

Tanker Bella 1 it was under observation of the American service already about two weeks before the operation in the Atlantic. On 20 December last year, the unit was in the Caribbean Sea and, according to the available information, headed towards Venezuela without cargo. During this time Coast Guard The U.S. has attempted to board the ship with a warrant to take it over due to violations of sanctions.

However, the crew refused to let the officers in and continued the shipping. On 31 December the ship changed its name from Bella 1 au Mariner, where he was registered as a unit under the Russian flag, and the flag of the Russian Federation was painted on the side. Then the tanker left the Caribbean region and headed for the North Atlantic, attempting to break contact with its followers American units.

Previously, the unit was flying the flag of Panama and was in the media space combined with the so-called Russian "shadow float", used to circumvent international sanctions against trade in energy resources.