Britain’s Ministry of Defence said it had provided military help to the US forces that seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker north-west of Britain and Ireland, initially arguing the operation was legal because the vessel had breached US sanctions on Iran.
John Healey, the defence secretary, said the UK had allowed US aircraft to use bases to prepare for and carry out the mission, while the RAF had provided extra surveillance and the navy refuelling while the final capture was under way.
Healey said British involvement was justified under international law because the Marinera, which was sailing from the Caribbean Sea towards Russia, had previously been placed under sanctions when it was known as the Bella 1.
“This ship, with a nefarious history, is part of a Russian-Iranian axis of sanctions evasion which is fuelling terrorism, conflict and misery from the Middle East to Ukraine,” the defence secretary said.
Later, Healey expanded the justification for the seizure. The tanker, he told MPs in the evening, had changed its name “five times in the last five years” and had been falsely flying the flag of Guyana when it was called Bella 1 and arrived in the Caribbean.
A stateless vessel, the defence secretary said, “may be lawfully intercepted and subjected to the law of the interdicting state”. Stateless ships are generally considered to be without protection under international law, although there is debate about the extent to which they can be boarded or seized.
The Marinera was also, the minister said, part “of an increasing web of shadow shipping that fuels and funds instability” and that “Russia operates a vast shadow fleet of its own to bankroll its illegal invasion of Ukraine”. Stopping such ships from trading covertly was hurting Russia’s war effort, he added.
The UK had decided to assist in response to a request from the US for help, the defence secretary said. But British forces only played a supporting role and no British forces took part in the boarding, Healey told MPs on Wednesday evening.
James Cartlidge, the Conservative defence spokesperson, said his party supported the seizure of the vessel, while the LibDems called for the government to clarify if it was legal under international law. Ellie Chowns, for the Greens, asked why “has our government deemed it prudent to hang on US military coattails on Wednesday?” and asked if stronger economic sanctions could have been placed on the shadow fleet.
The Bella 1 was sailing towards Venezuela at the end of December, but rapidly reversed course after it was approached by the US Coast Guard. The tanker was hastily renamed as the Marinera and placed under a Russian flag in an effort to deter its seizure, but this did not put off the US.
Bella 1 had been under sanctions by the US Treasury since July 2024, accused by the American authorities of being involved in carrying illicit cargo for a company owned by Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Lebanese group. It is not thought to be carrying oil, prompting speculation as to whether it could be carrying nefarious cargo.
Direct British help on Wednesday included the provision of the RFA Tideforce, a Royal Navy utility vessel that provides fuel, water and other military supplies. Flight records also show an RAF Rivet Joint surveillance plane flying to and from the Atlantic north of Ireland on Tuesday.
The US military’s European Command posted on social media thanking the UK “for your unwavering support during the US operation to seize the M/V Bella”.
Flight records showed the Marinera appears to have been closely monitored this week by US P-8 surveillance aircraft flying from RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk as it crossed the Atlantic a few hundred miles west of Ireland. The surveillance was part of what appeared to be an intense US effort to seize the tanker.
A series of US C-17 transport flights into RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire in the past 36 hours had prompted speculation they were carrying helicopters that could be used by US special forces to take the ship. Two AC-130 gunships were also filmed arriving at Mildenhall on Sunday.
Data collected by TankerTrackers, a specialist monitor, showed Bella 1 had transported 7.3m barrels of Iranian crude oil and 3.7m barrels of Venezuelan crude oil to China between October 2021 and September 2025.
The best public interest journalism relies on first-hand accounts from people in the know.
If you have something to share on this subject, you can contact us confidentially using the following methods.
Secure Messaging in the Guardian app
The Guardian app has a tool to send tips about stories. Messages are end to end encrypted and concealed within the routine activity that every Guardian mobile app performs. This prevents an observer from knowing that you are communicating with us at all, let alone what is being said.
If you don't already have the Guardian app, download it (iOS/Android) and go to the menu. Select ‘Secure Messaging’.
SecureDrop, instant messengers, email, telephone and post
If you can safely use the Tor network without being observed or monitored, you can send messages and documents to the Guardian via our SecureDrop platform.
Finally, our guide at theguardian.com/tips lists several ways to contact us securely, and discusses the pros and cons of each.
