Free Republic

he oil tanker Marinera, seized by the United States, had been chartered by a private trader under the flag of Guyana.It changed its flag to Russian while in the Atlantic, already being escorted by a U.S. Coast Guard vessel, Caliber.Az reports, citing REN TV.The U.S. Coast Guard began pursuing the tanker off the coast of Venezuela after failing to obtain confirmation from Guyanese authorities that the ship was sailing under their flag.U.S. officials demanded that the captain proceed to a U.S. port, but he refused and steered the vessel into the Atlantic. En route, the tanker requested temporary registration under...

The U.S. on Wednesday seized a rogue Russian-flagged tanker linked to Venezuelan oil in the North Atlantic Sea. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem had earlier announced another seizure in a social media post. “In two predawn operations today, the Coast Guard conducted back-to-back meticulously coordinated boarding of two ‘ghost fleet’ tanker ships — one in the North Atlantic Sea and one in international waters near the Caribbean,” she posted. Noem said the Motor Tanker M/V Bella I (later renamed the Marinera and reflagged as Russian) and the Motor Tanker Sophia were either last docked in Venezuela or en route to...