Moscow demands US ensure rights of Russian crew on seized tanker

Russia called on the US to guarantee the safety and immediate return of its citizens after US naval forces boarded the Russian-flagged tanker Marinera in the North Atlantic, the Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.

"Russia demands that the US ensure humane and dignified treatment of Russian citizens on the ship Marinera, and respect their rights and interests," the ministry told the state news agency Tass.

According to Russia's Transport Ministry, communication with the vessel was lost around 3 pm local time (1200GMT) when US naval forces boarded the ship in "the open sea outside the territorial waters of any states."

The ministry asserted that the Marinera had received a temporary permit to sail under the Russian state flag on Dec. 24, 2025, in compliance with national and international law.

Officials in Moscow condemned the boarding as a violation of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, arguing that a "regime of freedom of navigation operates" in open waters and that "no state has the right to use force against ships properly registered in the jurisdictions of other states."

The statement follows confirmation from US officials that the vessel, previously known as the M/V Bella 1, was seized for alleged violations of sanctions targeting Venezuelan oil.

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth previously stated that the blockade of "sanctioned and illicit Venezuelan oil remains in full effect," while Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem described the ship's recent change of flag as a "desperate and failed attempt" to evade detection.

The interception of the tanker occurs amid heightened tensions following a recent US military intervention in Caracas and the capture of Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores.