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Nato forces are tracking a shadow oil tanker which is evading a US blockade on Venezuela, as it sails 250 miles off the coast of Ireland.
The US, UK, France, and Ireland have all flown surveillance aircraft to monitor the Bella 1 tanker, after it fled from the Caribbean Sea last month to escape US capture.
The vessel has changed its name to the Marinera and painted a Russian flag on its side, in what appears to be an attempt to claim protection from Moscow.
Two US P-8 surveillance aircraft flying from RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk, a British Eurofighter Typhoon from RAF Lossiemouth, an Irish Air Corps plane and a French Navy maritime patrol aircraft have flown in the direction of the tanker in recent days, The Times reported.
Speculation is growing that US forces may attempt to board the tanker, in a move which would mirror last month’s publicised operation to seize the Skipper, an oil tanker which left a port in Venezuela last month.
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The vessel tanker Bella 1 at Singapore Strait, after US officials say the US Coast Guard pursued an oil tanker in international waters near Venezuela (Hakon Rimmereid)
The vessel is part of the so-called Venezuelan shadow fleet, which is carrying oil in breach of US and international sanctions. Washington last month announced a blockade of the fleet, shortly before US forces entered Venezuela to seize its now-deposed president, Nicolas Maduro, who is in New York facing drug charges.
The ship’s intended destination is unclear. Two officials have told CBS News that US forces would rather seize the vessel than sink it.
Intelligence sources told the broadcaster that Venezuela had considered placing military personnel on oil tankers disguised as civilians to assist the vessels in evading US blockades.
Citing two US officials, the broadcaster said US forces plan to intercept the tanker after a failed attempt by the Coast Guard to board it last month.
Two US planes that flew over the tanker passed through Irish airspace while doing so, even though the Irish government forbids military aircraft from using its airspace during military operations, The Irish Times reported.
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The Bella 1 is now registered as a Russian ship (VesselFinder)
The ship is currently listed in the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping as being ported out of Sochi, on Russia’s Black Sea. According to The New York Times, the Russian government has officially requested that the US stop all attempts to seize the ship.
Kpler, a trading intelligence website which collates detailed information on oil shipments, reported that it had transported more than 6 million barrels of Iranian oil last year, much of which was passed on to unknown vessels at sea, in attempts to conceal the final destination of the oil.
The US officials with knowledge of the plan told CBS that the seizure could come as early as this week, but also stated that the operation could end up being shelved, as is the case with some defence department plans.
Mr Trump’s “total and complete” blockade of the already-sanctioned Venezuelan oil tankers last month was part of a militarised pressure campaign, which resulted in the capture of Mr Maduro in the early hours of Saturday.
“Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America,” Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“It will only get bigger, and the shock to them will be like nothing they have ever seen before — Until such time as they return to the United States of America all of the Oil, Land, and other Assets that they previously stole from us.”
But The New York Times reported on Monday that at least 16 oil tankers have disguised their geographical locations or turned off their transmission beacons in attempts to evade the naval blockade.