The United States is attempting to seize a Venezuela-linked oil tanker after a more than two-week-long pursuit across the Atlantic, two US officials told Reuters on Wednesday.
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, who were speaking on condition of anonymity, said the operation is being carried out by the Coast Guard and US military.
They added that Russian military vessels were in the general vicinity when the operation took place, including a Russian submarine.
The tanker, now known as the Marinera and registered under a Russian flag, is the latest tanker targeted by the US Coast Guard since the start of US President Donald Trump's pressure campaign against Venezuela.
Separately, the US Coast Guard has also intercepted another Venezuela-linked tanker in Latin American waters, US officials told Reuters, as the US continues enforcing a maritime "blockade" of sanctioned vessels from Venezuela.
