The US attempt to intercept the oil tanker Bella 1, linked to the regime of Nicolas Maduro, stalled due to limited resources of the Maritime Security Response Team. The vessel has been pursued since Sunday, but the crew refused to voluntarily allow American law enforcement officers on board. This is reported by Reuters, writes UNN.
Details
The tanker Bella 1 has been identified as part of a "shadow fleet" helping Venezuela circumvent sanctions. Since the Coast Guard, unlike the Navy, has the authority to conduct law enforcement actions, it is responsible for boarding. However, seizing a resisting vessel requires the involvement of elite units capable of rappelling from helicopters.
Maritime security expert and former Coast Guard officer Corey Ranslem explained the situation:
There are a limited number of teams trained for these types of boardings
Discrepancy between plans and resources
The situation with Bella 1 highlighted a problem in the strategy of the Donald Trump administration, which ordered to "block" all sanctioned tankers near Venezuela. Despite recent successful seizures of two other vessels, special forces on the aircraft carrier "Gerald Ford" are currently too far from Bella 1 to conduct the operation.
Washington's position
The White House officially confirmed that the United States is still "actively pursuing a dark fleet vessel subject to sanctions that is part of Venezuela's illicit sanctions evasion." However, due to logistical and personnel limitations, the administration may ultimately abandon the forceful seizure of this particular vessel if additional forces do not arrive in time.
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