US Special Forces Deploy to UK as Washington Eyes Seizure of Sanctioned Tanker Fleeing Toward Russia

United States special operations forces have deployed to the United Kingdom ahead of a potential high-risk maritime operation to intercept and seize a sanctioned oil tanker that has evaded a US blockade and is now heading toward Russia, according to defence officials and media reports.

Cargo aircraft carrying helicopters and personnel from the US Army’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment—known as the Night Stalkers—have touched down at RAF Fairford, while additional tiltrotor aircraft and surveillance jets have arrived at RAF Mildenhall. The deployments are widely seen as staging for a possible boarding of the tanker Marinera, formerly called Bella 1.

The Marinera, a large oil tanker long under US scrutiny for its role in transporting Venezuelan and Iranian crude in defiance of sanctions, fled US forces in December after a boarding attempt in the Caribbean was aborted. The vessel then reportedly changed names, painted a Russian flag on its hull, and re-registered under the Russian Maritime Register—a move Washington says complicates but does not necessarily prevent interception.

The ship is currently being tracked in the North Atlantic, hundreds of miles west of Ireland, as it charts a course toward Russia. US and allied maritime patrol aircraft—including US Navy P-8 Poseidons and surveillance planes from NATO partners—are monitoring its progress.

Officials in Washington have signalled a preference for seizing the vessel rather than sinking it, a strategy similar to recent interdictions of other sanctioned tankers tied to “shadow fleet” operations—covert shipping networks used to bypass international restrictions on oil exports.

The deployment of elite US forces has drawn international attention and heightened the risk of a diplomatic clash, particularly after reports that Russian naval assets, including warships and a submarine, may be shadowing the tanker to deter any seizure attempt. Moscow has condemned what it describes as an unlawful pursuit of a Russian-flagged vessel.

A final decision on whether to launch the boarding operation is expected in the coming days as military and political leaders assess the legal and strategic implications of taking control of the tanker in international waters.