Three additional tankers that recently operated in Venezuelan waters and were previously sanctioned by the U.S. for shipping Iranian and Russian oil now officially fly the Russian flag, in addition to MV Marinera and MV Hyperion, according to a New York Times live update shared on X by @trbrtc over the past hour ending at 11:15 a.m. UTC on January 7, 2026. MV Bella 1 was renamed MV Marinera and re-flagged as a Russian vessel on December 30, 2025, after carrying Venezuelan crude oil, as detailed in the New York Times report. The vessel is currently in the Western Atlantic. A CBS News article referenced in an X post by @SerbinPont during the same period states U.S. plans to interdict the tanker carrying Venezuelan oil following the January 3 capture of Nicolás Maduro. The X post by @SerbinPont quotes reports of U.S. special forces potentially flying from the United Kingdom to capture MV Marinera, with Russia deploying naval means to escort the ship. This development follows earlier reports this morning of three U.S.-sanctioned tankers operating in Venezuelan waters switching to the Russian flag, as noted in a New York Times update shared by @trbrtc before 8:45 a.m. UTC. These tanker adjustments occur amid shifts in regional oil dynamics, including Mexico overtaking Venezuela as Cuba's top oil supplier in 2025 per a Financial Times report shared yesterday, and ongoing U.S. sanctions enforcement after President Donald Trump's Delta Force operation captured Maduro in Caracas on January 3, 2026.
