US seizes Russian-flagged oil tanker in the North Atlantic
發佈日期: 2026-01-08 21:04
TVB News
US President Donald Trump's administration is seeking to assert its control over Venezuelan oil, seizing a pair of sanctioned tankers transporting petroleum and announcing plans to relax some sanctions so the U.S. can oversee the sale of Venezuela's petroleum worldwide.
One of the tankers seized is registered to Russia.
The US policing of Venezuela-linked oil tankers has gone global, and Russia is not happy.
Thousands of miles from Venezuela, in the North Atlantic, US forces seized a merchant vessel, Bella 1, renamed Marinera and re-flagged to Russia.
Washington had been pursuing the tanker since last month after it tried to evade a US blockade on sanctioned oil tankers, refusing to allow US forces to board in the Caribbean.
The US also seized the tanker Sophia in the Caribbean, with both ships either last docked in Venezuela or en route to it.
Moscow hit out at the seizure. Russian state TV said late on Wednesday that "Moscow is closely monitoring" the situation.
The Russian Transport Ministry said: "The actions of the American side violate the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and no state can use force against vessels duly registered in the jurisdictions of other states."
The US action has also triggered outrage at home, with Senate Democrats calling for answers after a closed-door meeting on Capitol Hill.
"This is an insane plan," said Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy. "They are talking about stealing the Venezuelan oil at gunpoint for a period of time undefined as leverage to micro-manage the country. I mean, the scope and insanity of that plan is absolutely stunning."
"The public needs answers across America," said Democratic Senator Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. "People are just saying what the hell is going on? We need answers as to how long this is going to last. We need answers to how many troops? How much money?
"Are there guardrails, things we don't do? And a number of things that we had talked about were very troubling."
China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said: "China has always opposed illegal unilateral sanctions without the basis of international law and without the authorisation of the United Nations Security Council."
Meanwhile, US oil company Chevron is in talks with Washington to expand a license to operate in Venezuela and increase crude exports to its own refineries and sell to others.
This as the US and Caracas discuss the supply of up to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil to America, effectively diverting supplies meant for China.
It drew a sharp response from China's commerce ministry, saying the US-Venezuela deal was a gross violation of international law."
