US forces attempting to seize Russia-flagged oil tanker with Venezuela links days after Maduro ‘capture’: Report
The officials said Russian military vessels were in the general vicinity of the operation, including a submarine. It was unclear how close they actually were.
The United States, on Wednesday, is attempting to seize a Russian-flagged oil tanker with links to Venezuela after a more than two-week-long pursuit across the Atlantic, and as a Russian submarine and warship were close by, Reuters reported, citing two US officials.
The seizure, which could stoke tensions with Russia, came after the tanker, originally known as the Bella-1, slipped through a US maritime “blockade” of sanctioned tankers and rebuffed US Coast Guard efforts to board it.
The officials cited in the report said the operation was being carried out by the Coast Guard and the US military.
They added that Russian military vessels were in the general vicinity of the operation, including a Russian submarine. It was unclear how close the vessels were to the operation, which was taking place close to Iceland.
According to Reuters, this appeared to be the first time in recent memory that the US military has attempted to seize a Russian-flagged vessel. The attempt also comes just days after a dead-in-the-night operation by the US Special Forces in Caracas, which resulted in the “capture” of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro last Saturday.
