U.S. Suspends Oil Tanker Seizure Following Display of Russian Flag

The U.S. Coast Guard has paused its operation to seize the sanctioned oil tanker Bella 1 after the vessel began flying a Russian flag.

The New York Times reports that, according to U.S. officials, Coast Guard ships have been shadowing the large oil tanker in the Atlantic Ocean for more than 10 days, keeping a distance of about half a mile (approximately 800 meters).

The military stated that special units are fully prepared to carry out a forcible seizure of the vessel but are awaiting the ‘green light’ from the White House.

The situation became more complicated after a Russian flag was crudely painted on the hull of the Bella 1.

Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the coast guard may seize vessels if they have no national affiliation or are suspected of fraud.

At the start of the pursuit, the United States considered the Bella 1 to be a vessel sailing under a false flag and therefore subject to a court-ordered seizure.

If the vessel was indeed legally re-registered in Russia in time, a forcible seizure could lead to a diplomatic escalation.

Washington fears that Russia may have resorted to a maneuver by retroactively registering the vessel without proper inspections in order to provoke a conflict.

At present, the United States is attempting to clarify the tanker’s status through diplomatic channels.

The tanker Bella 1 is owned by a Turkish company and was placed under U.S. sanctions for transporting Iranian oil on behalf of terrorist organizations, including Hezbollah, the Yemeni Houthis, and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The vessel is part of the so-called ‘shadow fleet’ that transports sanctioned oil from Russia, Iran, and Venezuela.

In mid-December, the United States detained a third tanker bound for Venezuela.