Russia sent a submarine to escort a rusty tanker fleeing the US - WSJ
Kyiv • UNN
Russia sent a submarine and other naval forces to escort an empty, rusty oil tanker. This has become a new "hot spot" in relations between the US and Russia, according to a US official.
Russia has sent a submarine and other naval forces to escort an empty, rusty oil tanker, which has become a new "hot spot" in US-Russia relations, citing an American official, The Wall Street Journal reports, writes UNN.
Details
The tanker, formerly known as Bella 1, has been trying for more than two weeks to circumvent a US blockade of sanctioned oil tankers near Venezuela. The vessel was unable to dock in Venezuela and load oil. Although the vessel is empty, the US Coast Guard is pursuing it in the Atlantic in an attempt to suppress a fleet of tankers carrying illicit oil around the world, including black market oil sold by Russia, the publication writes.
The ship's crew repelled a US boarding attempt in December and sailed into the Atlantic. As the US Coast Guard pursued it, the crew carelessly painted a Russian flag on board, changed the name to Marinera, and changed its registration to Russian, the publication notes.
Russia is concerned about US seizures of tankers carrying its illicit oil around the world and fueling its economy, and it has taken the unusual step of allowing the tanker to register in Russia without inspection or other formalities, experts say.
According to three other US officials, Russia has asked the US to stop pursuing the vessel. On Tuesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said it was following the situation around the tanker "with concern," Russian media reported.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment, but the US Southern Command said on social media on Tuesday that it was ready to "counter sanctioned vessels and entities transiting this region."
The US Coast Guard continues to monitor the vessel in the Eastern Atlantic, where it is currently sailing approximately 300 miles south of Iceland towards the North Sea, according to AIS positioning data.
Russian media published a video, apparently taken from the deck of the oil tanker, showing a US Coast Guard cutter following the vessel. Russian media also stated that the US tried to intercept the tanker, which was heading to Murmansk in Russia, despite its "clear civilian status."
The conflict around the tanker, as stated, is taking place against the backdrop of diplomatic disputes between Washington and Moscow over the war in Ukraine, "threatening to complicate negotiations." Russia has not yet accepted the peace agreement proposed by the US and Ukraine.
The US, it is noted, has already detained two very large oil tankers, Skipper and Centuries, which are part of the fleet carrying illicit oil, and officials said that more seizures are possible.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine - and subsequent Western sanctions - have triggered a rapid expansion of a global "shadow fleet," an armada of over 1,000 tankers with unknown owners and no Western insurance, according to some analysts. The vessels conceal their role in transporting oil by using deceptive tactics such as turning off radio signals to hide their movements and transshipping cargo to other vessels in poorly controlled waters. Most of these tankers are over 15 years old, raising concerns about major spills and collisions.
At the time the US began pursuing the tanker, Bella 1 was a stateless vessel sailing under a false flag and subject to judicial arrest, according to the White House. The US sanctioned Bella 1 for allegedly transporting Iranian black market oil on behalf of US-designated terrorist organizations linked to Tehran.
However, experts say the vessel's new Russian registration now complicates the legal justification for the US to seize it.
"Once it's legally registered, it gets flag protection" under international law, said retired Rear Admiral Fred Kenney, former director of legal affairs and external relations at the International Maritime Organization, adding: "It's not retroactive, you can't say it was stateless two weeks ago, so we'll say it's stateless now."
Experts say a US move to forcibly board the vessel could also open the door to retaliation from Russia and allied countries such as Iran.
"Will Russia regularly intervene and protect the 'shadow fleet'? That would undermine the argument that they have legitimate ties to these vessels," said William Baumgartner, former chief military lawyer and chief legal counsel for the US Coast Guard. "If they repeat this, the question arises whether this is a legitimate change in the registry, or whether it is being done for self-serving reasons."