Both the USA and Russia were desperate to get the tanker, or more likely what was on it. It had no oil on it. Could Iran have been sending precious metals to Venezuela? If so why would they do that.
This ship, with a nefarious history, is part of a Russian-Iranian axis of sanctions evasion which is fuelling terrorism, conflict, and misery from the Middle East to Ukraine
There’s no need to get into speculation like that. The tanker itself was the objective of the mission. The U.S.’ stated goal is complete interdiction of all Venezuelan oil exports - a total blockage. The strategy is to put maximum pressure on the regime to accede to U.S. demands on a host of matters. Since oil revenues make up something like half of government revenues, and a major chunk of the economy, the Venezuelan government would face a really difficult choice if the U.S. is able to make good on the blockade.
Thus, they’re going after every tanker. Not because they have hidden gold bars or jewels, but because they want to prevent Venezuela from being able to pump any oil until they give into Washington’s requirements…
You might be right, but Iran has been using Venezuela to circumvent sanctions and get access to Western banks. Strangely Trump’s actions should have a big effect in Iran:
But with restrictions comes evasion and Iran is no exception. The country has noticed that banks in Venezuela are not restricted in their access to America and, indeed, are largely responsible for self regulating to make sure the funds they transfer to the U.S. are for legitimate purposes. This has provided Iran with not only an ideological match, but a convenient co-conspirator as well. Seizing on this loophole, Iran has opened the Banco Internacional de DesarrolloamericasRegulatoryNews (International Development Bank or BID) in Caracas and through this bank has opened thick ties with Panama, a notorious secrecy jurisdiction. District Attorney Morgenthau notes his office suspects an “ulterior motive,” as BID clearly provides a “sanction busting” method for Iran to gain access to the U.S. financial system.
So why would Iran go to these lengths for some bank deposits in Manhattan? Because to obtain banned missile and nuclear materials in an international market, Iran must make payments through wire transfers in U.S. dollars, which must clear through correspondent accounts in the United States. In this way, Iran can use Venezuela’s banks as a third party to guarantee its “continued development of nuclear technology and long-range missiles.”
We shall see!
They can’t possibly go after every tanker in the shadow fleet, can they?
" Estimates put the size of the shadow fleets used by Russia, Iran, and Venezuela to evade international sanctions at around 1,000 vessels. Their numbers have swelled in recent years as the three nations have sought to maintain oil sales that are vital to their state budgets."
Apart from the vast number of tankers, they’re spread out across the globe.
At the very least, they’d have to prioritize which tankers to go after. Why would we prioritize this specific tanker?
It was one of the ones off the coast of Venezuela that was sanctioned. That combination made it a good example pour encourager les autres as Voltaire put it.
DB2
Yeah, there were 16 of them before Maduro’s capture - then they all bolted.
“In response to questions from The Times, a U.S. official on Sunday said that “the quarantine is in effect focusing on sanctioned shadow vessels transporting sanctioned” Venezuelan oil.”
We chased an empty tanker for over two weeks…
Interesting video recap -
“pour encourager les autres”
DB2
I’m more of a Decartes kind of guy.
“Le doute est le commencement de la sagesse”
There were a load of US special forces, helicopters, other eqt. flow into the UK just for this rusty old tub:
British forces helped the US seize a sanctioned oil tanker heading to a Russian port in a direct challenge to Vladimir Putin
UK spy planes and ships supported the US Coast Guard and special forces to take control of the Russian-flagged Marinera vessel, which was in Icelandic waters.
The USCGC Munro pursued the tanker, previously named Bella 1, for two weeks before it was captured.
With Russian military assets in the vicinity, including a submarine, the operation risked bringing British and American forces into direct confrontation with Moscow in the North Atlantic.
I’d love to know what that ship was carrying!
Oil. It’s not complicated. We, and other NATO nations are trying to stop, or at least degrade Russia’s shadow oil fleet.
There are three places to do that: at the originating port, which we want for our own purposes, at sea, or by bombing the destination port in Russia. Seems like the “at sea” option is probably the best.
I’ve been looking at Venezuela for a while. It acts as a conduit between the Western banking system and Russia, Iran to some extent China. There are also reports that it was money laundering for Hezbollah.
There are unconfirmed reports that 1,200 tons of silver were being transferred to Russia from Venezuela in anticipation of the USA’s actions. A Jumbo Jet (cargo version) could carry about 120 tons. What else did Venezuela try to transfer?
I find it hard to believe that some old rustbucket of a tanker would attract so much attention from the military in both the USA and UK.
We shall see in time.
If it is some top-secret smuggling operation, maybe we’ll never know… 
DB2
I’ll wait until Tom Cruise stars in the film about it 
I am a full-throat supporter of capturing the tankers. Good job. No one murdered in the process.
I am less excited about the capture of Maduro. I am still forming my opinion as I want that opinion to be educated/informed. Might we have been able to topple him in time by simply blockading his country? Did we need to kill a bunch of others to achieve the end result? If we don’t have boots on the ground, what has really changed - it is still an illegitimate government that will still be supporting narcos (or be supported by).
I am even less excited about bombing suspected boats. That was and continues to be terrible. If we can capture tankers, why can’t we capture drug boats?
There is another sanctioned tanker in the English Channel. It should be very easy to get this one should they want to:
A sanctioned Russian vessel was spotted sailing through the English Channel only a day after a Russian-flagged tanker was seized by US forces in Icelandic waters.
The ship was sanctioned by the US when it was named Tia in August 2024, but it is now sailing under a false name.
Because it was trying to get to Venezuela. This is a blockade. The strategic objective is to prevent Venezuela from selling any oil, to anyone, until they agree to the U.S.’ demands. So you want to send the message that if any tanker tries to get to Venezuela, you’ll lose the tanker. Even if the tanker isn’t able to get through the blockade and runs away. You vastly up the cost of testing the blockade. That way the blockade doesn’t get challenged (or challenged as often), which makes the blockade easier to maintain.
So we prioritize an empty tanker instead of the tankers loaded with oil leaving Venezuela.
What tankers loaded with oil leaving Venezuela? Are you suggesting that we’re allowing tankers to come in, load up with oil, and then leave? That seems utterly inconsistent with all the reporting on the situation - do you have a link?
Scroll up. NYT free link and linked video that summarizes the information.
Ah - yes, they flooded the zone, so they were able to avoid initial contact. However, the Bella didn’t avoid that initial contact - but they tried to run, so we stayed in pursuit. I imagine that’s the main reason. Once we engage and request to board, you need to let us board - and if you don’t, we will run after you to the ends of the earth. Again, the point being to make the blockade more effective.
