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Russia on Wednesday demanded the United States ensure the swift and humane return of Russian crew members from an oil tanker seized by Washington in the North Atlantic, escalating diplomatic tensions over the maritime interdiction.
"Given incoming information about the presence of Russian citizens among the crew, we demand that the United States ensure humane and dignified treatment, strictly respect their rights and interests, and not impede their speedy return to their homeland," Russia's foreign ministry said, according to state news agency TASS. The ministry did not specify how many Russian nationals were aboard the vessel.
The Russian-flagged tanker, which had recently changed its name from Bella-1 to Marinera, received temporary permission to sail under the Russian flag on December 24, Russia's transport ministry said. Contact with the ship was lost after US naval forces boarded it in international waters beyond any state's territorial jurisdiction.
Russia's transport ministry condemned the seizure as a violation of established principles governing the high seas. "In accordance with the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, freedom of navigation applies in waters on the high seas, and no state has the right to use force against vessels duly registered under the jurisdiction of other states," the ministry said in a statement.
The protest represents Russia's formal legal objection to the operation, which Washington conducted under a US federal court warrant as part of sanctions enforcement against what it calls a shadow fleet transporting oil for Venezuela, Russia and Iran.
The tanker interdiction occurred after US forces pursued the vessel from waters off the coast of Venezuela, where Washington recently toppled authoritarian president Nicolas Maduro. The ship had thwarted an earlier boarding attempt last month near Venezuela.
US European Command confirmed the vessel was seized pursuant to a federal court warrant, while Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth declared the US blockade on Venezuelan oil now in effect "anywhere in the world." The military also announced a second sanctioned tanker had been seized in the Caribbean Sea.
The vessels were part of Washington's expanding maritime enforcement following Maduro's removal. Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem said both ships "were either last docked in Venezuela or en route to it," releasing video of US forces roping down from helicopters onto an unidentified vessel with weapons ready.
The Marinera had been sailing under US sanctions since 2024 over alleged ties to Iran and Hezbollah. In recent weeks, the tanker's crew painted a Russian flag on the hull after switching its registration to Russia, and the vessel reportedly received a Russian naval escort including a submarine.
President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that 30 to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan crude—potentially worth more than $2 billion—will be shipped to US ports with revenue under his personal control. US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Washington would control Venezuelan oil sales "indefinitely," though the legal basis and agreement with Venezuela's interim president Delcy Rodriguez remain unclear.
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