The U.S. said Wednesday that in its attempt to blockade sanctioned oil exports from Venezuela, it seized two tanker ships, one of which was newly registered under the Russian flag.
In a post on X, the U.S. European Command said the tanker — which it called Bella 1, the ship’s former name — had been seized in the North Atlantic for violations of U.S. sanctions on Venezuelan oil.
The ship, now named Marinera, is just one that Russia has reflagged to join its “dark” fleet.
“This has moved beyond a sanctions case into a real-time jurisdictional challenge, where the key question is what legal basis exists for enforcement on the high seas,” Dimitris Ampatzidis, senior risk and compliance analyst at energy consulting firm Kpler, told CNBC. “The vessel’s identity and history remain constant, but its flag status can significantly raise the diplomatic stakes.”
According to maritime lawyers who spoke with CNBC, a vessel is essentially considered a floating island of the country whose flag it bears.
