'Anywhere in world': US on seizing Russia-flagged ship; another tanker boarded

US secretary of war Pete Hegseth on Wednesday said the Venezuela oil blockade was "in effect anywhere in the world" shortly after American forces, after a high-stakes chase, boarded and seized a Russian-flagged oil vessel, which reportedly was linked to Venezuela."The blockade of sanctioned and illicit Venezuelan oil remains in FULL EFFECT — anywhere in the world," the Pentagon chief said.

A US official told news agency AP that the American military has "seized the vessel and handed over control to law enforcement officials".The US had been pursuing the tanker since last month after it tried to evade a US blockade around Venezuela.The ship was sanctioned by Washington in 2024 for allegedly smuggling cargo for a company linked to Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. The US Coast Guard attempted to board it in the Caribbean in December as it headed for Venezuela, where the Trump administration has placed a naval blockade on sanctioned oil vessels. The ship refused boarding and headed across the Atlantic.The tanker, however, continued to be tracked as it sailed northeast, with US P-8 surveillance aircraft operating from RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk monitoring its movement for several days.

Open-source flight data showed the aircraft shadowed the ship as it moved northwards and passed close to the UK coast, before it was eventually seized.During the pursuit, the tanker’s crew painted a Russian flag on the hull and claimed the vessel was operating under Russian protection. Soon after, the ship appeared on Russia’s official maritime registry under a new name, Marinera. Moscow subsequently lodged a formal diplomatic protest, demanding that the US halt its pursuit of the vessel.While asserting Russian status could complicate the legal basis for seizure, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN that the Trump administration has not accepted that claim and continues to treat the vessel as stateless.Second tanker seized in Caribbean SeaThe US military on Wednesday also announced the seizure of a sanctioned tanker ship in the Caribbean Sea, the second vessel taken by American forces.US personnel "apprehended a stateless, sanctioned dark fleet motor tanker without incident. The interdicted vessel, M/T Sophia, was operating in international waters and conducting illicit activities in the Caribbean Sea," US Southern Command, which is responsible for the area, said in a post on X.America uses UK basesThe UK said that they won't comment against the US operation involving the Venezuela-linked Marinera oil tanker.

The prime minister’s official spokesperson said Downing Street won’t comment on the US operation involving the Venezuela-linked Marinera oil tanker."We don’t comment on the operational activity of other nations, including the third party use of UK bases”, the spokesperson told reporters when asked about the tanker in the regular Wednesday briefing following Prime Minister’s Questions, adding that the was “a long-standing position” of UK governments.