U.S. Forces Launch Operation to Seize Fleeing Oil Tanker

Helicopters and Coast Guard vessel being used in the continuing seizure

07.01.2026 15:18

By Shelby Holliday, Costa Paris and Lara Seligman, The Wall Street Journal

U.S. Forces Launch Operation to Seize Fleeing Oil Tanker

FILE PHOTO: The vessel tanker Bella 1 at Singapore Strait, after U.S. officials say the U.S. Coast Guard pursued an oil tanker in international waters near Venezuela, in this picture taken from social media on March 18, 2025. Hakon Rimmereid/via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES./File Photo. Verification: Reuters was able to verify the BELLA 1 vessel tanker by the structures, cranes and design of the vessel that matched the file imagery. The date was verified by original file metadata and the location was provided by the source. A U.S. official confirmed the U.S. Coast Guard pursued an oil tanker in international waters near Venezuela, and British maritime risk management group Vanguard, along with a U.S. maritime security source, identified the vessel as Bella 1. The vessel tracking data showed the most recent location of the tanker at the Caribbean sea on December 17, 2025.

07.01.2026 15:18

The Wall Street Journal

By Shelby Holliday, Costa Paris and Lara Seligman, The Wall Street Journal

Helicopters and Coast Guard vessel being used in the continuing seizure

U.S. forces moved to seize an oil tanker that had fled America’s blockade of sanctioned vessels near Venezuela and was being escorted by a Russian submarine in the eastern Atlantic, according to U.S. officials.

Helicopters and at least one Coast Guard vessel were being used to take control of the tanker on Wednesday under the Coast Guard’s law-enforcement authority. The officials said tanker captains and mechanics would be sent on board to operate the ship.

The U.S. brought in P-8 Poseidon “sub-hunter” aircraft and AC-130J gunships to help with the boarding operation, according to flight-tracking data and two U.S. officials.

The ship, formerly known as the Bella 1, had been trying to evade U.S. seizure for more than two weeks. When the U.S. began pursuing the ship, it was a stateless vessel flying a false flag and subject to a judicial seizure order, the White House said.

The U.S. sanctioned the Bella 1 in 2024 for allegedly carrying black-market Iranian oil on behalf of U.S.-designated terrorist organizations aligned with Tehran.