US troops have reportedly launched a daring mission to seize a rogue shadow fleet tanker with links to Russia after hunting it across the Atlantic.
Russia had scrambled a submarine and naval vessels to try and guard the rusting Marinera tanker as it attempted to evade capture after failing to break Donald Trump’s Venezuela blockade.
The ageing sanctions busting Marinera – which Russia claims has nothing on board – has been closely monitored by US and UK forces in recent days after it fled the Caribbean.
Tensions over what the rustbucket was doing so close to Venezuela quickly mounted as the US began gearing up to seize the ship by force.
Seal Team 6 – the squad that took out Osama Bin Laden – and Delta Force – who captured Nicolas Maduro over the weekend – are both suspected of being involved in the mission after arriving in Britain on Tuesday.
It remains unclear exactly what Washington believes is on board the vessel with fears it may have been carrying top secret military cargo such as missiles across to Caracas.
read more in tanker chaos
SHOWDOWN
US sub-hunter faces off with Putin vessels guarding tanker Trump ‘plans to seize’
IN OUR SIGHTS
Moment US ship stalks ‘Axis of Evil’ tanker through fog off British Isles
Flight tracking data from this morning showed a P-8A Poseidon Maritime Patrol Aircraft heading towards the last known coordinates of the tanker off the coast of the UK.
The jet departed Keflavik, Iceland, as it was sent out alongside a KC-135 Stratotanker for refuelling.
Boeing’s Poseidon aircraft are used in anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, intelligence and surveillance and reconnaissance missions.
Trump’s crack naval team have now claimed to have started the mission to take over the vessel where they will complete a thorough search on board.
The plan reportedly mirrored last month’s helicopter-borne assault on another sanctioned tanker, The Skipperwhen US Marines, special forces and the Coast Guard stormed the vessel at sea.
Planespotters had claimed that a trio of V-22 US Ospreys were seen practising fast-roping drills, while the Poseidon naval spy planes kept tabs on the tanker prior to the capturing of the ship.
Formerly called the Bella 1 but now rebranded as the Marinera, the Venezuelan tanker is accused of being part of a so-called “shadow fleet”, a group of boats that illegally ship oil.
These sanction-evading vessels help circumvent embargoes, allowing “Axis of Evil” dictators such as Nicolas Maduro and Putin to continue trading.
Last month, the US Coast Guard tried to board the Bella 1 in the Caribbean as it was suspected of heading towards Venezuela.
Washington believed it may have been shipping Iranian oil at the time.
They were unable to seize the ship with its captain quickly changing course before making it to Venezuela.
It managed to flee the Caribbean and was heading towards the Russian port of Murmansk, according to reports.
The ship, which can carry up to £37m worth of oil, also changed its name to the Marinera in December and bizarrely swapped out its flag from Guyanese to Russian.
The Marinera has previously displayed Panamanian flags on different occasions but is originally from Iran.
Ship tracking data quickly located the vessel as it resurfaced in the North Atlantic, 500 miles west of Ireland.
Tense footage taken by one of the boat’s crew shows a USCG Legend-Class cutter carefully tailing behind the rogue tanker in the water this week.
US cargo planes packed with Special Forces helicopters scrambled once the Marinera was in sight as they swooped into RAF Fairford.
Troops from America’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment – known as Nightstalkers – brought across Black Hawk and Chinook choppers as they started to establish a plan on how to board the ship.
Three V-22 Ospreys from RAF Mildenhall also joined the force alongside RAF Typhoon jets and KC2 refuelling aircraft which were seen operating near the tanker’s last known position.
The chase comes as Washington squeezes Venezuela’s oil lifeline harder than ever.
Since December 16, when Trump imposed a “total and complete blockade” on sanctioned Venezuelan oil tankers, more than a dozen vessels have fled the country in what officials describe as a coordinated breakout attempt.
Sixteen tankers – most of them supertankers bound for China – slipped out using deceptive tactics, including fake ship names, falsified locations and switching off tracking signals to operate in “dark mode”.
Satellite imagery shows some sailing east in tight formation. Others have vanished entirely from tracking systems.
US officials view the escape as a direct challenge to American power at sea and a test of Trump’s blockade.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has called the quarantine “one of the largest in modern history” and said it is “paralysing” the regime’s ability to raise cash.
Oil exports are Venezuela’s economic lifeblood.
Cutting them off is central to Washington’s strategy to choke the remnants of the Maduro network and stabilise the country under interim leadership.
Trump even announced on Truth Social that he will be given up to $50million worth of oil from Venezuela in the coming weeks.