Oil Tanker Pursued by US Coast Guard Near Venezuela Changes Name, Claims Russian Registry

The tanker has remained at large since the U.S. Coast Guard first attempted to board it on Dec. 21.

The crew of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Mohawk (WMEC 913) and a Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter flight crew conduct training evolutions in the Caribbean Sea, July 15, 2025. Seaman Corrie Gill/U.S. Coast Guard

An oil tanker that fled a U.S. boarding attempt near Venezuela in December is now appearing in a Russian ship registry under a new name, as it continues to evade capture.

The U.S. government official first disclosed U.S. Coast Guard efforts to seize the oil tanker on Dec. 21, as the vessel approached the waters near Venezuela. At the time, a U.S. official said the suspect tanker was flying a false flag and was subject to a judicial seizure order.

When the pursuit began, the oil tanker was listed under the name Bella 1, with ship registration data listing the tanker as a Guyana-flagged vessel.

A new review of the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping now indicates the vessel has changed its name to Marinera and has claimed the flag of Russia.

For now, the Russian government’s stance toward the tanker is unclear. The Epoch Times reached out to the Russian Embassy in Washington for comment, but did not receive a response by publication time.

This same vessel has changed its nation of registry before.

The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Bella 1 for illicit shipping activity in June 2024, at the time describing the tanker as a Panama-flagged vessel. The Treasury Department said the tanker’s operators had transported sanctioned cargo on behalf of another business entity operated by the Hezbollah terrorist group.

While the name and claimed nationality of the vessel have changed, its registration number under the United Nations’ International Maritime Organization has remained the same.

The effort to seize the tanker is part of a broader pressure campaign against Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, whom the U.S. government does not consider to be legitimately elected. Along with rejecting his claim to the Venezuelan presidency, the U.S. government has accused Maduro of playing a prominent role in narcotics trafficking to the United States.

U.S. military and Department of Homeland Security personnel seized an oil tanker near Venezuela on Dec. 10.

President Donald Trump ordered a blockade targeting sanctioned oil tankers sailing in and out of Venezuela on Dec. 16, and the U.S. government seized another tanker on Dec. 20.

In recent weeks, the U.S. Treasury Department has added other oil tankers and tanker operators to its sanctions list, identifying them as part of a “shadow fleet” working to sustain Maduro’s hold on power.