The United States has seized two tankers linked to Venezuelan oil exports in "back-to-back" operations in the North Atlantic and the Caribbean.
US says the ship is part of a so-called “dark fleet” used to evade international sanctions imposed on Venezuela’s oil trade.
US forces boarded the Russian-flagged Marinera after a pursuit lasting almost two weeks as it travelled through the waters between Iceland and Scotland.
The UK Royal Navy gave logistical support by air and sea.
A second tanker - the M/T Sophia - was accused by the US of "conducting illicit activities" and boarded in the Caribbean.
The moves come as the US seeks to choke off most exports of Venezuelan crude oil, and just days after its special forces seized Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in a lightning raid on his residence in Caracas.
A high-seas seizure of a Russian-flagged oil tanker by US forces has brought Washington and Moscow to the brink of a new diplomatic clash.
Russia has called the move illegal, while the US says it was enforcing sanctions linked to Venezuela.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote on X: "The blockade of sanctioned and illicit Venezuelan oil remains in FULL EFFECT - anywhere in the world."
Moscow has denounced the seizure of the tanker sailing under its flag, and demanded that the US treat Russians aboard properly and permits them to return to Russia quickly.
The transport ministry said it had given the vessel "temporary permission" to use the Russian flag, adding that no state had the right to use force against vessels properly registered in other states' jurisdictions.
Reports suggested that Russia dispatched a submarine to safeguard the vessel, but it appears that US forces were able to board the tanker without facing any resistance.
The White House described the ship as a "Venezuelan shadow fleet vessel deemed stateless after flying a false flag and had a judicial order" against it.
Russian-flagged tanker seized in North Atlantic: US forces seized the tanker Marinera — formerly known as Bella-1 — “pursuant to a warrant issued by a US federal court,” the US European Command said.
US officials say the tanker was part of a sanctions-busting network moving oil for Venezuela and had been blacklisted by Washington in 2024.
Crew evaded boarding, changed identity: The tanker refused US Coast Guard boarding in December, crossed the Atlantic, changed its name, switched registration to Russia, and painted a Russian flag on its hull, according to US officials.
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