The Bella 1 had been tailed by a US Coast Guard cutter across the Atlantic Ocean for almost two weeks when the ship’s crew employed a novel tactic to evade the US military: painting a Russian flag on its hull.
The aging, rusted crude oil tanker got a new name too — The Marinera. Moscow soon sent a diplomatic request to Washington to stop pursuit of the vessel.
It was New Year’s Eve, and the tanker, sanctioned for being part of a shadow fleet used to move illicit oil around the world, was steaming north, potentially headed for Russian waters just east of Finland.
Trump officials balked at the diplomatic warning, saying the newly painted flag was illegitimate and the vessel was “stateless,” effectively calling Russia’s bluff. A Coast Guard cutter, named the Munro, remained in pursuit.
As the tanker approached the North Atlantic between the United Kingdom and Iceland, US military aircraft began prepositioning at airbases in the UK. Special operations forces, including Navy SEALs and an Army helicopter unit known as the “night stalkers,” were readied for a potential mission.
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