US seizes Russian-flagged oil tanker
On Jan. 7, 2026 US Officials said that as part of Washington’s efforts to block Venezuelan oil exports, the US seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker that was being shadowed by a Russian submarine after pursuing it for more than two weeks across the Atlantic.
This is the first time in recent memory that the US military has seized a Russian-flagged vessel.The Marinera as ship, which was originally known as the Bella-1, is named was seized in the Atlantic near Iceland, Reuters first reported.
The vessel previously slipped through a US maritime blockade of sanctioned tankers in the Caribbean and rebuffed US Coast Guard efforts to board it.
The vessel was seized by the Trump administration for violating US sanctions, the US military’s European Command said in a post on X.
“The @TheJusticeDept & @DHSgov, in coordination with the @DeptofWar today announced the seizure of the M/V Bella 1 for violations of U.S. sanctions. The vessel was seized in the North Atlantic pursuant to a warrant issued by a U.S. federal court after being tracked by USCGC Munro,” the post reads.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth replied to that post by saying that “The blockade of sanctioned and illicit Venezuelan oil remains in FULL EFFECT — anywhere in the world.”
Reuters reported that the operation was undertaken by the Coast Guard that was helped by US special forces to secure the tanker. The US special forces then left the vessel, which was now under Coast Guard control.
Noteworthy according to photos (featured in this post) released by RT, US Army 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR) ’s MH-6 Little Bird helicopters were used in the operation.
The seizure of Maduro
Russian military vessels, including a submarine, were in the general vicinity of the operation. There were no indications of a confrontation between US and Russian military forces.
TASS reported that Andrei Klishas, a senior Russian lawmaker from the ruling United Russia party, said that the US seizure was an act of outright piracy.
The operation took place just days after Delta Force raid to seize President Nicolas Maduro and take him to the US.
According to sources Marinera would likely be entering British territorial waters.
Separately, on Wednesday, the Panama-flagged supertanker M Sophia, another Venezuela-linked tanker was intercepted by the US Coast Guard in Latin American waters.
MH-6 Little Bird
The MH-6 Little Bird is the Special Operations variant of the OH-6A helicopter. Originally conceived as a scout helicopter for US Army armored units, but, as explained by Military.com, since the early 1980s it has been used almost exclusively by the special operations community.
In fact, it is mainly used to insert special operations forces onto rooftops or on narrow roadways.
The AH-6 is instead a versatile light attack and multimission helicopter built for superior performance and rapid reconfiguration. It combines a purpose-built military fuselage with modern systems to boost mission effectiveness and survivability.
Configurable mission equipment and an integrated cockpit support precision day-and-night engagement, anti-armor, close-combat attack, reconnaissance, security and escort, troop insertion and extraction, and combat search and rescue — delivering a reliable, state-of-the-art platform for diverse operational needs.
Photo credit: RT