NYT: US halts raid on shadow fleet tanker after Russian flag appears

The US Coast Guard has suspended an operation to seize the sanctioned oil tanker Bella 1 after an image of the Russian flag appeared on its hull.

Source: The New York Times, citing senior US officials

Details: US officials stated that Coast Guard vessels had been shadowing the large oil tanker in the Atlantic Ocean for over 10 days, staying at a distance of about half a mile (around 800 metres).

Special forces were fully prepared to board the vessel by force but were awaiting a green light from the White House. The situation became more complicated after a crudely painted Russian flag appeared on the hull of the Bella 1.

Under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Coast Guard may seize vessels that are stateless or suspected of fraud. When the pursuit began, US authorities believed the Bella 1 was sailing under a false flag and therefore subject to a court order for seizure.

Experts warn that if the vessel has in fact been legally re-registered in Russia, a forcible takeover would amount to a serious diplomatic escalation. Washington is concerned that Russia may have exploited legal loopholes and retroactively registered the tanker without inspections in order to provoke a confrontation. The US is now trying to clarify the tanker's status through diplomatic channels.

The Bella 1 is owned by a Turkish company and was placed under US sanctions for transporting Iranian oil on behalf of designated terrorist organisations, including Hezbollah, the Yemeni Houthis and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The tanker is considered part of the so-called shadow fleet used to transport sanctioned oil from Russia, Iran and Venezuela.

Background:

• Last weekend, the Bella 1 made a sudden 180-degree turn to avoid inspection and departed at full speed from the coast of Venezuela.
• On 17 December, US President Donald Trump announced a full blockade of sanctioned Venezuelan oil tankers.
• On 10 December, US forces operating in the Caribbean took full control of an oil tanker off the Venezuelan coast.

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