US VP Vance: Bella 1 posed as Russian tanker to evade justice

US Vice President J.D. Vance said the oil tanker Bella 1, also known as Marinera, was merely posing as a Russian vessel in an attempt to evade justice.

In an interview with Fox News, Vance noted that the ship refused US authorities access last month and later, at the end of December, changed its registration to sail under the Russian flag, hoping for protection from Moscow, Caliber.Az reports.

“It was a fake Russian oil tanker. They basically tried to pretend to be a Russian oil tanker,” the US vice president said, adding they tried to evade the sanctioned regime.

The vessel known as Bella 1 was on a US sanctions list since 2024 for being part of what US officials call a “shadow fleet” of tankers moving oil linked to Venezuela, Iran and other sanctioned entities, and refused a US Coast Guard boarding attempt near the Caribbean before fleeing across the Atlantic.

During its escape, the ship’s crew changed its name to Marinera, registered it under the Russian flag and even painted a Russian flag on the hull in an attempt to claim Russian protection, but US authorities continued to track it as it sailed north.

After a weeks‑long pursuit, the United States seized the tanker in North Atlantic waters between the UK and Iceland on January 7, under a US court warrant, a move that sparked diplomatic protests from Moscow.

By Jeyhun Aghazada