US seeks prosecution of crew of detained Russian-flagged tanker

The United States plans to prosecute all crew members of the tanker Marinera, which was detained by US military forces on Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said.

She added that Washington has rejected the Kremlin’s demand to transfer crew members holding Russian citizenship to Russia. According to her, the crew of the tanker Bella1, also known as Marinera, has been charged with violating US federal law.

“As a result, they will be transferred to the United States to face trial,” Leavitt said.

Earlier, Reuters reported that US authorities seized a Venezuela-linked oil tanker in the Atlantic Ocean after more than two weeks of pursuit. The vessel was identified as Bella1, which had changed its name to Marinera and re-registered under the Russian flag. The tanker was boarded and detained with the assistance of the United Kingdom.

In a separate incident, the United States also detained another vessel linked to Russia’s sanctioned “shadow fleet” in the Caribbean Sea - the tanker Sofia. The move triggered strong reactions in Russia, where officials accused Washington of violating international law.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry condemned the detention of the tanker by US forces and formally demanded that Russian citizens aboard one of the seized vessels be handed over to Moscow.