Venezuela live updates: Oil tanker chased By US amid Russian Navy reports

Russia has sent at least one naval vessel to escort an oil tanker that has been tracked by the U.S. after it evaded a blockade of sanctioned oil tankers near Venezuela last month, according to multiple reports citing unnamed sources.

The U.S. is said to have been chasing the Bella 1, now reportedly renamed as the Marinera and registered to Russia, since it evaded a blockade around Venezuela in December. It is currently sailing northeast in the Atlantic between Britain and Iceland, according to ship tracking data seen by Newsweek. The ship is reportedly empty after failing to load with oil in Venezuela

The dispatch of at least one Russian naval vessel was reported in both the New York Times and Wall Street Journal. The action has not been confirmed by Moscow. The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday it was monitoring the situation “with concern”, according to WSJ.

Newsweek has approached the U.S. Coast Guard and Russian Foreign Ministry for comment. The U.S Southern Command posted on X Tuesday: “#SOUTHCOM remains ready to support our U.S Government agency partners in standing against sanctioned vessels and actors transiting through this region.”

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