The Bella 1 tanker as seen from the deck of a U.S. Coast Guard cutter Wednesday, in a Coast Guard handout photo. U.S. Coast GuardWith five oil tankers seized—and more U.S. military action promised—the world’s fleet of so-called shadow tankers that ferry sanctioned crude are quickly hoisting a new flag: the Russian tricolor.Their hope is that by operating under the flag of a country with a strong navy they might be able to skirt the U.S. blockade on Venezuelan oil movements and avoid interception by the Coast Guard.It doesn’t appear to be working.The U.S. military seized a fifth oil tanker Friday and continues to monitor other vessels trying to evade the Trump administration’s quarantine on sanctioned tankers traveling to and from Venezuela, according to American officials. Moscow sent ships to escort another tanker, known as Bella 1, which was sailing under a sloppily painted Russian flag on its hull, as the U.S. military tracked it across the Atlantic Ocean.Bella 1’s apparent attempt to claim protection from Moscow appeared to fail. The tanker, which turned out to be empty of oil, was seized Wednesday in a raid by special-operations forces. Russia’s Foreign Ministry said two Russian crew members would be released in an agreement with the U.S. government. American officials said the crews of all seized vessels would eventually be repatriated.In the past two weeks alone, as the Trump administration’s attempt to blockade Venezuela’s crude exports intensified, more than 15 tankers involved in shipping sanctioned oil swapped flags to fly Russia’s, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence. Russia-flagged ships still represent a small portion of the shadow fleet.“Adopting the Russian flag is a way for the dark fleet to be supposedly protected from raids,” said Richard Meade, editor in chief of Lloyd’s List, a shipping report. “It can certainly become a flashpoint between Washington and Moscow.”Twenty-five tankers were reflagged to Russia in the final three months of 2025, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. Eighteen of those changed their colors in December, and 16 were sanctioned by the U.K. or the U.S. The legitimacy of these midvoyage changes under international maritime law is unclear, S&P said.The flag switches mark another stage in the evolution of the fleet of tankers that ship oil from Venezuela, Iran and Russia. Operators of those vessels go to elaborate lengths to disguise the origin of their cargo and avoid detection. Tactics include changing vessel names and falsifying coordinates. Until recently, most of this shadow fleet sailed under obscure colors, such as the flag of Gabon, or established flags of convenience, such as Liberia’s. Some had bogus flags from countries such as East Timor and Malawi.Shipping executives and lawyers said that whoever controls the newly Russian-flagged tankers had hoped the U.S. wouldn’t dare touch ships that Moscow counts as its own.In the case of Bella 1, the Foreign Ministry in Moscow said the tanker received permission to fly Russia’s flag in late December, that this was in keeping with international and Russian laws and that it was sailing toward Russia.The crew painted the Russian flag on the side of the ship while it was being chased, and it was registered as the Marinera in the Russian ship registry. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, however, said the vessel was “deemed stateless after flying a false flag.” The U.S. sanctioned the ship in 2024, alleging that it had carried oil for Hezbollah. Before it switched allegiance to Russia, Bella 1 purported to sail under the colors of Guyana, where officials have warned that ships are using its flag fraudulently.Maritime nations have been flying their flags on ships for centuries. Global regulations that made countries responsible for safe sailing of the ships on their books were adopted after World War II. While flag states aren’t bound to protect ships on their registers if they come under attack, those with a large navy like Russia often do, maritime lawyers and shipping executives said.The proliferation of fly-by-night flags and registers has fanned concern about possible accidents involving old tankers with sanctioned cargoes, but until the recent seizures Western governments have mostly allowed them to sail unimpeded. The interception of Bella 1 underscores the ties linking Venezuela’s state-run oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela, known as PdVSA, with Russia, as well as Moscow’s broader role in assembling the shadow tanker fleet. The number of shadow tankers previously dedicated to moving Iranian and Venezuelan oil ballooned to accommodate Russia’s high level of oil exports when the U.S. and allies imposed sanctions on the country’s crude sales after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.“Russian interests may be embedded in PdVSA, potentially setting Trump up for confrontation with [Russian President Vladimir Putin] over oil assets in Venezuela,” said Michelle Wiese Bockmann of the maritime-data company Windward.People involved in the seizure of Bella 1 said Russian military vessels were talking to the tanker’s crew as it was being captured by American special forces coming on board down ropes from helicopters. The tanker crew didn’t resist, and Russian vessels pulled back, according to a senior Russian maritime official. The vessels radioed the headquarters of the Russian Northern Fleet in Murmansk to say they feared a shootout.The U.S. sent a significant amount of firepower to support the Bella 1 takeover mission. At one point two Russian aircraft flew over a Coast Guard vessel trailing the tanker.While Russia ultimately backed down, it has a record of deploying its military to protect shipping interests. In May, Estonia said Moscow sent a jet fighter into North Atlantic Treaty Organization airspace when the Baltic country tried to stop an unflagged tanker that Britain had sanctioned for moving Russian oil.Write to Costas Paris at costas.paris@wsj.com, Joe Wallace at joe.wallace@wsj.com and Benoit Faucon at benoit.faucon@wsj.com The Bella 1 tanker as seen from the deck of a U.S. Coast Guard cutter Wednesday, in a Coast Guard handout photo. U.S. Coast GuardWith five oil tankers seized—and more U.S. military action promised—the world’s fleet of so-called shadow tankers that ferry sanctioned crude are quickly hoisting a new flag: the Russian tricolor.Their hope is that by operating under the flag of a country with a strong navy they might be able to skirt the U.S. blockade on Venezuelan oil movements and avoid interception by the Coast Guard.It doesn’t appear to be working.The U.S. military seized a fifth oil tanker Friday and continues to monitor other vessels trying to evade the Trump administration’s quarantine on sanctioned tankers traveling to and from Venezuela, according to American officials. Moscow sent ships to escort another tanker, known as Bella 1, which was sailing under a sloppily painted Russian flag on its hull, as the U.S. military tracked it across the Atlantic Ocean.Bella 1’s apparent attempt to claim protection from Moscow appeared to fail. The tanker, which turned out to be empty of oil, was seized Wednesday in a raid by special-operations forces. Russia’s Foreign Ministry said two Russian crew members would be released in an agreement with the U.S. government. American officials said the crews of all seized vessels would eventually be repatriated.In the past two weeks alone, as the Trump administration’s attempt to blockade Venezuela’s crude exports intensified, more than 15 tankers involved in shipping sanctioned oil swapped flags to fly Russia’s, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence. Russia-flagged ships still represent a small portion of the shadow fleet.“Adopting the Russian flag is a way for the dark fleet to be supposedly protected from raids,” said Richard Meade, editor in chief of Lloyd’s List, a shipping report. “It can certainly become a flashpoint between Washington and Moscow.”Twenty-five tankers were reflagged to Russia in the final three months of 2025, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. Eighteen of those changed their colors in December, and 16 were sanctioned by the U.K. or the U.S. The legitimacy of these midvoyage changes under international maritime law is unclear, S&P said.The flag switches mark another stage in the evolution of the fleet of tankers that ship oil from Venezuela, Iran and Russia. Operators of those vessels go to elaborate lengths to disguise the origin of their cargo and avoid detection. Tactics include changing vessel names and falsifying coordinates. Until recently, most of this shadow fleet sailed under obscure colors, such as the flag of Gabon, or established flags of convenience, such as Liberia’s. Some had bogus flags from countries such as East Timor and Malawi.Shipping executives and lawyers said that whoever controls the newly Russian-flagged tankers had hoped the U.S. wouldn’t dare touch ships that Moscow counts as its own.In the case of Bella 1, the Foreign Ministry in Moscow said the tanker received permission to fly Russia’s flag in late December, that this was in keeping with international and Russian laws and that it was sailing toward Russia.The crew painted the Russian flag on the side of the ship while it was being chased, and it was registered as the Marinera in the Russian ship registry. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, however, said the vessel was “deemed stateless after flying a false flag.” The U.S. sanctioned the ship in 2024, alleging that it had carried oil for Hezbollah. Before it switched allegiance to Russia, Bella 1 purported to sail under the colors of Guyana, where officials have warned that ships are using its flag fraudulently.Maritime nations have been flying their flags on ships for centuries. Global regulations that made countries responsible for safe sailing of the ships on their books were adopted after World War II. While flag states aren’t bound to protect ships on their registers if they come under attack, those with a large navy like Russia often do, maritime lawyers and shipping executives said.The proliferation of fly-by-night flags and registers has fanned concern about possible accidents involving old tankers with sanctioned cargoes, but until the recent seizures Western governments have mostly allowed them to sail unimpeded. The interception of Bella 1 underscores the ties linking Venezuela’s state-run oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela, known as PdVSA, with Russia, as well as Moscow’s broader role in assembling the shadow tanker fleet. The number of shadow tankers previously dedicated to moving Iranian and Venezuelan oil ballooned to accommodate Russia’s high level of oil exports when the U.S. and allies imposed sanctions on the country’s crude sales after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.“Russian interests may be embedded in PdVSA, potentially setting Trump up for confrontation with [Russian President Vladimir Putin] over oil assets in Venezuela,” said Michelle Wiese Bockmann of the maritime-data company Windward.People involved in the seizure of Bella 1 said Russian military vessels were talking to the tanker’s crew as it was being captured by American special forces coming on board down ropes from helicopters. The tanker crew didn’t resist, and Russian vessels pulled back, according to a senior Russian maritime official. The vessels radioed the headquarters of the Russian Northern Fleet in Murmansk to say they feared a shootout.The U.S. sent a significant amount of firepower to support the Bella 1 takeover mission. At one point two Russian aircraft flew over a Coast Guard vessel trailing the tanker.While Russia ultimately backed down, it has a record of deploying its military to protect shipping interests. In May, Estonia said Moscow sent a jet fighter into North Atlantic Treaty Organization airspace when the Baltic country tried to stop an unflagged tanker that Britain had sanctioned for moving Russian oil.Write to Costas Paris at costas.paris@wsj.com, Joe Wallace at joe.wallace@wsj.com and Benoit Faucon at benoit.faucon@wsj.com Read More
January 11, 2026