Where is the Bella 1 and why the United States has still not managed to seize the leaking oil tanker

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When the Coast Guard identified and He approached Bella 1 for the first time On December 21, the objective was detain and seize him under a US court ordersince the ship is accused of evading sanctions using illicit routes to transport Iranian, Russian and Venezuelan crude oil.

The initial operation took place in international waters off the coast of Venezuelawhen the Bella 1 approached that country empty with the alleged intention of loading Venezuelan oil.

However, the crew of the Bella 1 He refused to allow boarding and upon receiving orders to stop he simply continued his course at speed..

According to maritime monitoring reports and sources from the American newspaper The Wall Street Journal, at the time it was intercepted, the ship It turned 180 degrees and quickly moved away from the coast and the American ships. Since then he has been persecuted on the high seas.

He Bella 1 is part of the so-called “ghost fleet” that transports sanctioned crude oil, a network of ships that operates with off transponders, frequent flag changes and opaque corporate structuresdesigned to evade international controls and sanctions. The United States considers it a key link in the scheme that allows Venezuela continue exporting oil despite the tightening of the blockade.

When the United States sanctioned the Bella 1, it accused it of transporting black market Iranian oil on behalf of Washington-designated terrorist organizations that are friendly to Tehran: the Lebanese Hezbollah movement and Yemen’s Houthis.

Why is Bella 1 difficult to board?

He operational against him Bella 1 faces logistical limitations: not all vessels deployed by United Statesidos have specialized equipment to carry out forced boardings on the high seas, especially in the face of a large vessel with a crew reluctant to cooperate.

Bella 1 measures 333 meters long, which is equivalent to three football fields, and It has a height equivalent to about 20 stories.

For this reason, the United States has reinforced the operation and mobilizes additional resources, such as a Maritime Special Response Team and an elite force trained to high risk boarding at seaincluding descent from helicopters or through rapid tactical boarding techniques, according to The Wall Street Journal.

U.S. officials told the Journal that they have located the Bella 1but they added that they are in no hurry to carry out an operation against the oil tanker because The necessary units for such a mission are being assembled.

So, Once the deployment is complete, the United States says it has the right to use force to board the Bella 1starting with warnings that may include gunshots.

“They will have multiple helicopters, they will quickly get on the tanker, go up to the bridge and take control of the ship,” retired rear admiral told the Wall Street Journal William Baumgartnerformer attorney general of the Coast Guard.

The reason why the Bella 1 refuses to comply with Coast Guard orders is not publicly known. Its owner, the company Louis Marine Shipholding Enterprisesbased in Türkiye, did not respond to contact attempts, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Prior to their arrival to the coasts near Venezuelaat the beginning of September Bella 1 loaded crude oil in Iranand then turned off his transponder near the Strait of Hormuz. It remained inactive for two months and, when the device was reactivated near the same point, it no longer had the cargo, suggesting a transfer to other vessels.

Subsequently, the Bella 1 crossed the Strait of Gibraltar towards the Atlantic. Marked as destination Curacaobut altered its course on December 15, after the United States seized the first ship following the total oil blockade order issued by Donald Trump.

Since December 10, The United States seized two oil tankers carrying Venezuelan crude oil without resistancewith the purpose of affecting the main source of income of the Nicolás Maduro regime.

The first was the skipper, intercepted and captured in international waters off Venezuela.

The Coast Guardwith support from special units and vessels from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, boarded the ship that had left a Venezuelan port with about 1.8 million barrels of crude oil.

Washington called Skipper as part of the “ghost fleet” that works for Venezuela.

The arrest warrant was executed by tactical air and sea boarding forces without any casualties being recorded.

Ten days later, the December 20US authorities carried out a second similar operation against another supertanker, the Centuriesalso in the Caribbean Sea off the Venezuelan coast.

The Coast Guard boarded the ship while transporting 1.8 million barrels of Venezuelan crude oil destined for Asiain an operation that included the use of helicopters to deploy tactical teams on the ship’s deck.

Although the Centuries was not officially on the US Treasury Department’s sanctions list, authorities in Washington defended the action, alleging that the cargo and route of the ship were part of the practices used to evade sanctions against the Venezuelan oil trade.