The oil tanker now dons a Russian flag after evading U.S. capture last month
16:26, 06 Jan 2026Updated 18:13, 06 Jan 2026
U.S. military planes have been recorded in the region monitoring the tanker(Image: US Secretary of Homeland Securit)
Donald Trump plans to extend his jurisdiction closer to home, by seizing a Venezuelan oil tanker off the coast of Ireland.
Last month, the Bella 1 tanker slipped through the U.S. blockade set up in the Caribbean Sea and has since been spotted in the Atlantic, around 500 miles from Ireland’s west coast.
The sanctioned Panamanian-flagged vessel has been monitored by American military aircraft flying from RAF Mildenhall, in Suffolk, in recent days, according to flight tracking data. RAF Typhoon fighter jets, alongside KC2 aerial refuelling tankers, have also been pinged flying towards the last known location of the tanker.
Donald Trump could launch a military operation close to Ireland(Image: SmartFrame/Instar Images)
Further U.S. transport planes, known to have carried helicopters used in clandestine special forces operations, have also landed at RAF Fairford in recent days.
Meanwhile, according to CBS News, two officials have been cited stating that U.S. forces would rather seize the vessel than sink it.
The US Coast Guard had initially tried to intercept the Bella 1 as it sailed toward Venezuela to pick up oil, before the United States pulled off its daring Operation Absolute Resolve mission, resulting in the capture and arrest of President Nicolas Maduro.
Since evasion, the tanker has now been painted with a Russian flag on its side, in an apparent attempt to secure protection from Moscow, while the vessel was re-registered in Russia as the Marinera.
In December, American Marines, special forces units and the coast guard captured the Skipper oil tanker, after it left a port in Venezuela in an operation which could be repeated off the coast of Ireland. CBS adds that a similar mission could be conducted as soon as this week, but that it could also be shelved.
President Trump has suggested he will continue to squeeze Venezuela’s economy, despite capturing its leader from his home in Caracas last week, coinciding with the arrival of as many as 10 C-17A Globe Master transporter planes in Britain.
A build up of U.S. forces in the Caribbean Sea preluded Nicolás Maduro’s capture (Image: AP)
Chinook and Black Hawk helicopters, both used by the regiment for clandestine operations, were reportedly exited by American personnel, with the aircraft potentially being used in the raid on Maduro’s Caracas home. But, a spokesperson for the U.S. Air Force refused to confirm the details of the operation.
“US Air Forces Europe – Air Forces Africa routinely hosts transient US military aircraft (and personnel) in accordance with access, basing, and overflight agreements with allies and partners,” the spokesperson is quoted as saying by The Telegraph.
“Taking into account operational security for US assets and personnel, further details are not releasable at this time.”
Analysts have also speculated that the movement of equipment could be linked to a potential mission to seize the newly-named Marinera.
Matthew Savill, the director of military sciences at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), pointed out that the build-up could hint towards several potential missions, ranging from building up forces for a potential operation in the Middle East or Africa, to preparing a mission to board the Bella 1.
“But it could be a cunning misdirection. When they launched Midnight Hammer (to strike Iranian nuclear facilities) they had one thing tracking with transponders on,” the defence expert explained.
“It’s not implausible that while we’re all watching that, there’s something flying around over there that we’re not seeing.”