U.S. Navy SEALs boarded the Russian tanker Marinera near Iceland on January 7 under a federal warrant, signaling stepped-up enforcement of a Venezuela oil blockade.
Part of Operation Southern Spear launched in December 2025, the action used helicopters and Coast Guard cutters against the shadow fleet moving sanctioned Venezuelan oil. A second tanker, the M T Sophia, was seized the same day; Windward said the Marinera carried no oil, and U.S. officials told The New York Times Russian vessels were not in the immediate vicinity. Russia’s Foreign Ministry condemned “outright piracy,” while the Justice Department argues the ship was “stateless” after flying a false Guyanese flag. Crude prices rose modestly amid enforcement.