The United States hasn’t given up its pursuit of the massive, rusted oil tanker it chased into international waters near Venezuela last weekend, and officials are now contemplating moving additional resources into the area to forcibly board the ship, people familiar with the matter said.
Officials no longer expect the Bella 1 to return to the country to load up with oil as the US military and Coast Guard chase it, and the people familiar with the matter said it was possible the administration would decide to abandon its effort to seize the ship. But for now, the US is contemplating sending a specialized Maritime Special Response Team with experience in boarding vessels that do not submit to seize control of it.
The White House has said the Bella 1 is a “dark fleet vessel” covered by US sanctions that is sailing under a false flag. Officials said it was under a judicial order that would allow for its seizure.
It refused to stop when the Coast Guard tried to interdict it last weekend, instead making a U-turn and sailing into the Atlantic Ocean. It has been on the run ever since.
The pursuit stems from President Donald Trump’s order of a “blockade” on sanctioned Venezuelan oil tankers. Administration officials believe squeezing President Nicolas Maduro’s main economic lifeline is the best path to potentially ousting the authoritarian leader.
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