us forces dramatically seize russian-flagged oil tanker in the atlantic

A US military helicopter hovering over the oil tanker in the Atlantic

An oil tanker making its way to Russia and linked to both Venezuela and Hezbollah has been seized by US forces in a daring mission in the Atlantic.

The seizure of Russian-flagged oil tanker Marinera was supported by the British armed forces,the Ministry of Defence revealed,claiming the ship was also linked to the Iranian-backed terror group Hezbollah.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters the captured crew would be ‘brought to the United States for prosecution if necessary’.

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters the seizing of sanctioned or stateless oil tankers out of Venezuela will continue.

‘Our military is prepared to continue this,’ Hegseth said.

‘The president when he speaks,he means it. He’s not messing around. We are an administration of action to advance our interests,and that is on full display.’

The US seized another shadow fleet tanker Sophia in the Caribbean Sea in the early hours of this morning,with authorities saying that it was carrying oil from Venezuela.

Responding to the success of the operations,US defence secretary Pete Hegseth said that the US blockade of sanctioned Venezuelan oil is in effect ‘anywhere in the world.’

‘The blockade of sanctioned and illicit Venezuelan oil remains in FULL EFFECT – anywhere in the world,’ he wrote on X.

The move comes just days after US special forces swooped into Caracas before a dawn on Saturday in a deadly raid to abduct Nicolas Maduro and take him to the US.

MARINERA (9230880) just made a sudden southbound turn at 11:26 UTC at 60.9386,-16.37014. Decelerated from 9kn to 8kn speed. pic.twitter.com/dH8BnpF6r5

— TankerTrackers.com,Inc. (@TankerTrackers) January 7,2026

The US military turned him over to federal authorities for prosecution on charges involving alleged drug trafficking.

Top Venezuelan officials have called Maduro’s capture a kidnapping and have accused the US of trying to steal the country’s vast oil reserves,estimated to be the largest in the world.

In turn,Trump and top US officials have accused Venezuela of stealing US oil,in an apparent reference to the country’s nationalization of its energy sector in several waves over the past half-century. 

Got a story?