Trump Sends a Powerful Message by Snatching Rogue Oil Tanker Under the Nose of the Russian Navy
Early Wednesday, U.S. Special Operations Forces, probably Navy SEALs, boarded and took control of a Russian-flagged supertanker in the North Atlantic between Iceland and Ireland, bringing to an end a nearly three-week melodrama. On December 21, the U.S. Coast Guard operating in the Caribbean as part of Operation Southern Spear attempted to board a “dark fleet” supertanker, M/T Bella 1, heading toward Venezuela; see Report: Coast Guard Now Targeting Another Sanctioned Oil Ship Off Venezuela – RedState. The ship’s registration had expired, making it stateless. That didn't stop the ship from claiming Guyanese registration. The U.S. Treasury Department had sanctioned the vessel for its role in carrying Iranian oil for the benefit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. When the Coast Guard attempted to board, the Bella1 decided to make a run for it; US Coast Guard in Hot Pursuit of Ford Bronco in the Caribbean – RedState. Other than the Bella 1 speeding away at about 15 mph, the fact that it was empty also raised a lot of eyebrows.
Fast forward three days, and we find the Bella 1 speeding away from the USSOUTHCOM Area of Operational Responsibility, shadowed by various U.S. assets; see US Coast Guard in Hot Pursuit of Ford Bronco in the Caribbean – RedState. The farce became complete on December 30. The crew painted a Russian flag on the ship and renamed it M/T Marinera, not to be confused with marinara. On New Year's Eve, the Marinera suddenly appeared in the official Russian Maritime Register of Shipping. The database lists the vessel as flying the Russian flag, with the Black Sea port of Sochi as its home port. With that registration, the Kremlin requested that the U.S. desist in any efforts to board the vessel and cease pursuit.
As most of us were basking in the warm afterglow of the Maduro operation, events were taking place in the UK.
According to The Times:
American forces have been training for extractions after amassing military aircraft in Britain, as President Trump threatens strikes and annexations across the globe.
Special operations soldiers were seen rappelling from CV-22B tilt-rotor Osprey aircraft in a fast-rope and rescue exercise at a British airbase on Tuesday.
The drill took place shortly after a fleet of at least 14 C-17 Globemaster transport aircraft and two heavily armed AC-130J Ghostrider gunships landed at three RAF bases in Suffolk and Gloucestershire since Saturday.
The Globemasters are rumoured to have been carrying at least five MH-60M Black Hawk helicopters and one MH-47G Chinook, which are used for special forces operations. The helicopters have been spotted in British hangars, according to unconfirmed reports.
In light of events, the men rappelling from an Osprey seem to have been either a) unrelated to the pending operation or b) a clever bit of disinformation.
Tuesday, Russia responded by dispatching a submarine and other naval vessels to escort Marinera/Bella 1 to safety. Why send a submarine as an escort vessel? That is five-dimensional chess by Putin, I guess.
Official Russian state media, RT, has provided video of the close shadowing of Marinera/Bella 1 by a U.S. Coast Guard cutter.
It has also provided the images of at least one MH-6M Little Bird, or, if you wish, Killer Egg, approaching Marinera/Bella 1 with SOF operators poised for action.
While the main U.S. component was USCGC Munro, it had backup.
US officials had been tracking the Marinera since a failed attempt to nab it on Dec. 20, 2025, and dispatched AC-130J gunships and P-8 Poseidon “sub-hunter” aircraft to assist with Wednesday’s interception, according to the Wall Street Journal.
It seems as though the Brits, probably smarting from being left in the dark over the Maduro operation, cooperated in providing surveillance aircraft and a ship capable of storing and launching helicopters.
Official Russian response was restrained.
A spokesman for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs told the official TASS news agency it was “closely following” the situation.
“Taking into account reports that there are Russian nationals among the crew, we demand the American side ensure proper and humane treatment of them, strictly observe their rights and interests, and put no obstacles for their soonest return to the motherland,” the ministry said.
Unofficial response was, to put it charitably, unhinged.
I think that the Russians on board will go a long way toward explaining why Bella 1 did the OJ Simpson chase and why it was able to change its name and register as a Russian ship while being chased. There is a person or persons on that ship who were to be clandestinely inserted into Venezuela under the cover of an oil pickup. When the ship was intercepted, the Russians pulled out all the stops to protect the operation.
It is hard to imagine a louder message to the "dark fleet" smuggling oil and whoever is its master...right now, it looks like it is a Russian covert operation. The U.S. deploying forces to capture the ship turns what was shaping up to be an ignominious misadventure for our embargo of sanctioned Venezuelan oil into a warning that has to be noticed by Beijing, Moscow, and Tehran. Taking the ship after Russia had gone along with the registration farce and made a big deal about sending ships and a submarine to protect it sends a powerful message that we aren't cowed by Russian truculence.
This was another bold gamble by the Trump-Hegseth-Rubio triumvirate. Like the Maduro smash-and-grab operation, there were no leaks, and the mission was flawlessly executed.
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