US-pursued oil tanker set to enter Irish waters amid Trump crackdown on Venezuelan oil
Ottoline Spearman
A ship that is being pursued by the US military as part of President Trump's crackdown on Venezuelan oil is set to enter Irish-controlled waters in the coming days.
As reported by the Irish Times, the US Coast Guard began its pursuit of the oil tanker - known as a Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) - two weeks ago as it sailed to Venezuela to pick up an oil shipment.
Irish authorities are monitoring the ship's passage, and satellite data suggests that it will take the northern route around Ireland on its way to a Russian North Sea port.
Ships taking this route normally travel through Ireland’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) or along its upper boundary.
Trump has sanctioned the export of oil from Venezuela, and has so far seized two of its tankers.
The Irish Times reports that this ship was originally known as the Bella 1, but has recently changed its name to Marinera, and now has a Russian flag painted on its side. The ship has also been added to Russia's shipping registry, having previously flown the flag of Guyana.
According to the New York Times, Russia has requested that the US stop pursuing the ship.
But US authorities claim the tanker is falsely registered and is a “shadow vessel” - a ship that uses false or misleading registrations in an attempt to avoid sanctions.
According to Michelle Wiese Bockmann, an expert in "shadow fleet" ships, these ships routinely exploit weaknesses in the maritime registration system to continue operating despite international restrictions. "The definition for a false flag is a vessel that is falsely claiming to fly the flag, either of a legitimate registry... or they use a fraudulent registry," she said.
Ms Bockmann explained that often reputable ship registries remove vessels once they are sanctioned, forcing operators to seek out jurisdictions with weaker oversight. “Any reputable flag, if your vessel is sanctioned, they will delete you from the flag. So then you need to find a registry that will take you on,” she said.
In some cases, she added, ships take advantage of provisional registration systems, allowing them to move between registries before scrutiny catches up. “You can register your ship somewhere online and then you’ve got six months to give them all the documentation. But you don’t bother with that - at five months and 29 days you find another registry,” she said.
A US court has issued a seizure order for this particular ship, as the laws of the sea allow countries to seize a ship flying a false flag.
According to the Irish Times, satellite data provided by the analysis company Starboard Maritime Intelligence showed the Marinera sailing at speed northeast across the Atlantic on Friday afternoon, meaning it could enter the Irish EEZ over the weekend or early next week if it maintains its course.
A recent Irish Times investigation found that nineteen shadow fleet vessels had passed through, or just outside, the Irish Economic Zone (EEZ) between May and the end of July last year. Many of those ships have shown unusual behaviour, such as taking economically inefficient routes or sailing well outside recognised shipping lanes.
RTÉ found that 245 shadow vessels passed through Ireland’s maritime Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) more than 450 times in the first seven months of last year.
According to sources who spoke to the Irish Times, if this tanker continues its course, the Defence Forces will probably deploy a maritime patrol aircraft to monitor its passage.
