US Refuses To Release Russians From Hijacked Tanker

• 20.01.2026, 13:53

Washington did not comment on this information.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the United States has not yet fulfilled its promise to release two Russian citizens from the crew of the tanker Bella 1 (Mariner), detained by the US military in the Atlantic Ocean. He said this at a press conference, as quoted by Radio Mayak.

Washington did not comment on this information.

In late December, the U.S. Coast Guard attempted to detain in the Caribbean Sea the Panama-flagged tanker Bella 1, which was said to be heading to Venezuela. Washington claimed the vessel was on the U.S. Treasury Department's sanctions lists because of its transportation of sub-sanctioned oil. The crew, made up of citizens of Russia, Ukraine and India, refused to comply with the U.S. military's demands, and while evading pursuit, the tanker's crew members painted a Russian flag on its side.

The U.S. seized the tanker on the afternoon of Jan. 7 between Iceland and the British Isles. A U.S. landing party from a helicopter boarded the Bella 1. Reuters reported that Russian military vessels were in close proximity to the tanker and the U.S. Coast Guard. The Russian Foreign Ministry called the detention of the tanker an "illegal forceful action."