American forces are planning to intercept the Marinera, a crude oil tanker formerly known as Bella 1, CBS News reported. The U.S. Coast Guard began tracking the vessel in December as it prepared to load Venezuelan oil following President Donald Trump’s order of a “total and complete blockade” on tankers entering or leaving the country.
Two U.S. officials familiar with the plan told CBS News that an interdiction mission could occur as early as this week, though such operations could also be canceled. The Pentagon and State Department have not yet commented on the report.
Sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury for links to Iranian oil trading, Marinera has been reflagged in Russia and is now sailing near Ireland.
Flight-tracking data show it has been closely monitored by U.S. P-8 surveillance aircraft. An Irish Air Corps C-295 maritime surveillance plane was also tracked heading toward Marinera’s projected location.
There is now both a U.S. Navy P-8 Poseidon and Irish Air Corps C-295 Maritime Surveillance Aircraft flying out to the location of the Bella 1 (if she continued at same speed and heading from last AIS signal). pic.twitter.com/mvB56e5L57
— Oliver Alexander (@OAlexanderDK) January 5, 2026
If a potential U.S. interdiction mission succeeds, the Marinera could become the third tanker seized by American forces since last month.
In December, the U.S. seized the Guyana-flagged Skipper, sanctioned by the Treasury for allegedly aiding an oil-smuggling network that funded the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and Hezbollah. That same month, the U.S. also seized the Panamanian-flagged Centuries, alleged to be “operating as part of the Venezuelan shadow fleet to traffic stolen oil and fund the narcoterrorist Maduro regime.”
The New York Times reported Monday that over the last two days, in the wake of President Nicolás Maduro’s capture by U.S. forces, at least 16 oil tankers subject to U.S. sanctions have attempted to evade the U.S. naval blockade by disguising their locations or turning off transmission signals.
Four of the vessels have been tracked sailing east, roughly 30 miles from shore, using fake names and falsified positions in a tactic known as “spoofing.” The remaining 12 tankers are not broadcasting signals and have not been located in new satellite imagery, according to the news outlet.
