Russia Asks United States to Stop Pursuit of Fleeing Oil Tanker

The tanker, which had been sailing to Venezuela to pick up oil, has claimed Russian protection, although the U.S. authorities say it is a stateless vessel.

The government of Russia has made a formal diplomatic request that the United States stop its pursuit of an oil tanker that had been sailing for Venezuela and is now fleeing the Coast Guard in the Atlantic Ocean, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.

The request was delivered late on New Year’s Eve to the State Department, said the people, who discussed the diplomatic message on the condition of anonymity. It was also sent to the White House’s Homeland Security Council, one of the people said.

The dispute over the tanker comes as President Trump is trying to negotiate a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine and has repeatedly complained about his inability to end the war. Earlier this week, Mr. Trump hosted President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine at Mar-a-Lago, his private club and residence in Florida, and the two leaders expressed optimism about ending the war even as they appeared to make little progress on the thorny issues of security guarantees and territory swaps.

Russia’s request that the United States stop chasing the vessel could add a new wrinkle to the negotiations.

American forces have been tracking the tanker, known as the Bella 1, for nearly two weeks. The ship, which started its journey in Iran, had been on its way to pick up oil in Venezuela when U.S. forces tried to stop and board it in the Caribbean Sea. The U.S. authorities said the ship was not flying a valid national flag, making it a stateless vessel susceptible to boarding under international law, and said they possessed a seizure warrant. But the crew of the Bella 1 refused to comply and sailed back toward the Atlantic.

In the days since, the ship has tried to claim the protection of Russia, with its crew painting a Russian flag on the side and radioing the Coast Guard to say they were sailing under Russian authority. The Bella 1 recently appeared in Russia’s official register of ships, under a new name, the Marinera, with a home port of Sochi, on the Black Sea.

The White House declined to comment on the record. But a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing law enforcement matter said the Trump administration continued to view the tanker as “stateless” because it was flying a false flag when it was first approached by the Coast Guard. The State Department and the Russian Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Although securing Russian protection may be a long shot for the Bella 1 under international law, Russia’s diplomatic intervention could complicate the U.S. attempt to seize the tanker, which stems from an ongoing conflict with Venezuela. David Tannenbaum, a former sanctions compliance officer at the Treasury Department, said earlier this week that it was “unclear” whether Russia’s providing “overnight flag registration” to the ship would prove valid.

Mr. Trump has instituted a quasi-blockade on some tankers transporting oil from Venezuela as he seeks to pressure the government of Nicolás Maduro. The export of oil, mainly to China, has kept Venezuela’s economy afloat. So far, the United States has boarded and taken possession of two other tankers in the Caribbean. American officials have said they plan to seize more ships.

Mr. Maduro has ordered the Venezuelan Navy to accompany some tankers leaving his country and has considered putting troops on board, potentially heightening the chances of an armed confrontation with U.S. forces on the high seas.

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