Tanker pursued by the U.S. for two weeks switches to Russian registry and heads north at top speed

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An oil tanker that has been trying to evade the U.S. Coast Guard in the Atlantic Ocean since Dec. 15 has been officially renamed and entered into Russia’s registry of vessels, according to a report by The New York Times. The move could complicate efforts by U.S. authorities to board the ship.

According to data from the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping, the vessel, previously known as Bella 1 (IMO: 9230880) is now registered under the name Marinera. The registry lists the tanker as sailing under the Russian flag, with its home port designated as Sochi.

Data from Starboard Maritime Intelligence provided to The Insider show that “Marinera” is currently in the North Atlantic. It has been pursued for two weeks by the U.S. Coast Guard after leaving the waters off Venezuela. At the time, Bella 1, sailing under the Panamanian flag, was heading to a Venezuelan port to load cargo. It was under U.S. sanctions.

Its entry into the Russian registry complicates matters from the standpoint of maritime law. Under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, a vessel may be detained and inspected if it lacks registration or if its registration is falsified. When the United States began pursuing Bella 1, the White House said the vessel was sailing under a false flag. Its new Russian registration adds another layer of complexity.

The chase

Irregularities in the tanker’s movements became visible on Dec. 15. The vessel was sailing at a normal speed toward Venezuela, with its destination listed as CURACAO OPL (according to Starboard data, the designation indicates that the crew declared a course toward Curacao without entering port). However, as the ship approached the Lesser Antilles on the morning of Dec. 15, it suddenly slowed to a minimum speed and continued moving very slowly, with periodic bursts of acceleration. When it turned back. On Dec. 18, the vessel nearly stopped and ceased transmitting its AIS signal. It is now clear that the tanker then headed north, traveling at maximum speed for its class — “full ahead,” or about 8 to 8.6 knots.

American media have reported that the vessel is being pursued by the U.S. Coast Guard. The United States previously placed it on a sanctions list for exporting Iranian oil and petroleum products. The Wall Street Journal reported that, in an attempt to escape pursuit, the crew painted a Russian flag on the tanker. According to senior U.S. officials, this was done in an apparent attempt to claim protection from Moscow.

Those officials said there are internal debates within the Coast Guard and the U.S. Navy over whether it would be advisable to seize the vessel, given that the tanker is old and currently empty. They said the Coast Guard and U.S. military have both the personnel and the weapons needed to conduct a forced boarding. The Maritime Special Response Team — an elite unit trained to storm hostile vessels — is operating in the area.