Comment on 'Outright Piracy': Russia Decries US Seizure of Oil Tanker as Violation of International Law

• almost1337@lemmy.zip ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

  The aging, rusting tanker, originally called the Bella 1, was sanctioned by the US in 2024 for operating within a “shadow fleet” of tankers transporting illicit Iranian oil.

  Last month the US Coast Guard attempted to seize the vessel while it was heading to Venezuela to pick up oil, then operating under the flag of Guyana. But the ship’s crew refused to be boarded and made an abrupt turn into the Atlantic.

  The Bella 1’s crew later painted a Russian flag on its side, and it appeared in a Russian shipping register under a new name, the Marinera.

  cnn.com/…/russia-oil-tanker-seizure-what-we-know-…

  source

  • BrikoX@lemmy.zip ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

    Last month the US Coast Guard attempted to seize the vessel while it was heading to Venezuela to pick up oil, then operating under the flag of Guyana.

    My bad, I read that US considered it stateless. But in this case it was still illegal action on the US part, since then only Guyana had jurisdiction.

    But the ship’s crew refused to be boarded and made an abrupt turn into the Atlantic.

    So they cancelled their voyage?

    source

    • almost1337@lemmy.zip ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

      The truth is most likely that the ship is part of the Russian shadow fleet. It may have been pretending to be registered in Guyana, then changed to Russia when they were caught out.

      To my mind, the question is “does an enforcement gap exist in maritime law regarding these ships, and should the US be filling that gap?”

      source

      • BrikoX@lemmy.zip ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

        <…> they were caught out.

        Caught? They weren’t doing anything illegal. US has no jurisdiction to enforce their sactions against sovereign countries and ships in the international waters. Just because US has a god complex doesn’t mean they are above the law.

        The law is the law and US had broken it. Could it be updated? Sure. Should US be able to subvert the law? Fuck no.

        Most ships operating from their countries don’t even use their own flags. There are even landlocked countries that have registered ships (e.g. Moldova).
        statbase.org/…/number-of-ships-by-flag-of-registr…

        source

        • -> View More Comments