The U.S. seized the Russian-flagged Marinera oil tanker -- formerly known as the Bella-1 -- which has been linked to Venezuela and was transiting the North Atlantic, according to three sources familiar with the operation. And it also seized another tanker, according to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Friday that the United States had released two Russian crew members from a Russian-flagged oil tanker seized on Wednesday in the Atlantic Ocean.

The U.S. seized the "Marinera," which was sailing to Russia from Venezuela after it had broken through an American blockade.

US forces boarded and seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker on Wednesday after tracking it across the Atlantic for weeks. The aging vessel, originally called the Bella 1, was sanctioned by the US in 2024 for operating in a “shadow fleet” transporting illicit Iranian oil.