The White House said the crew on the Marinera, which had been re-flagged as a Russian vessel, "will be brought to the United States for such prosecution if necessary."

The U.S. military says U.S. forces have boarded another oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea as the Trump administration continues to target sanctioned tankers traveling to and from Venezuela.

The U.S. government has filed for court warrants to seize dozens more tankers linked to the Venezuelan oil trade, four sources familiar with the matter said, as Washington consolidates control of oil shipments in and out of the South American country.

The U.S. European Command confirmed the seizure of the Marinera, a Venezuela-linked oil tanker formerly known as Bella-1. It said the vessel was seized for violations of U.S. sanctions and pursuant to a warrant issued by a U.S. federal court after being tracked by USCGC Munro.

The dark fleet of tankers shipping illicit oil around the world is rushing to seek the perceived protection of the Russian flag after the US started seizing vessels involved in the Venezuelan trade.

Drones struck two oil tankers in the Black Sea on Tuesday, including one chartered by U.S. oil major Chevron , the companies involved said, as they sailed toward a terminal on the Russian coast.

President Donald Trump's administration is seeking to assert its control over Venezuelan oil, seizing two sanctioned tankers transporting petroleum and announcing plans to relax some sanctions so the U.

Four Venezuelan oil tankers reportedly returned to port after operating in "dark mode" as the U.S. seizes vessels amid Trump's push to acquire oil.

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.