U.S. Coast Guard pursues sanctioned tanker Bella 1 as it flees the Caribbean

The U.S. Coast Guard sought to intercept the oil tanker Bella 1 as it fled northeast from the Caribbean into the Atlantic, three U.S. officials said, after the vessel was linked to Venezuela and placed under U.S. sanctions. Officials and ship-tracking data show the Bella 1 was en route to pick up oil in Venezuela and was not carrying cargo when approached; it has been under U.S.

sanctions since last year for transporting Iranian oil. U.S. forces said the ship was not flying a valid national flag when approached, which can render a vessel stateless and liable to boarding, and federal authorities had obtained a seizure warrant from a magistrate judge based on the ship’s past involvement in the Iranian oil trade.

The tanker did not submit to boarding and continued sailing, with a second U.S. official calling the episode “an active pursuit.” Radio messages reviewed by The Times show the vessel began broadcasting distress signals and traveling northeast, more than 300 miles from Antigua and Barbuda, sending over 75 alerts by Sunday evening.

The Bella 1 has previously engaged in spoofing, and a New York Times analysis said it picked up oil from Kharg Island, Iran, in August before moving toward the Caribbean; internal Venezuelan state oil company data shows the ship was last scheduled to load a million barrels in November for a buyer linked to a Panamanian businessman recently sanctioned by the U.S.

Key Topics

Politics, Us Coast Guard, Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, Iran, Sanctions