Four Venezuelan oil tankers reportedly returned to port after operating in "dark mode" as the U.S. seizes vessels amid Trump's push to acquire oil.

The White House said the crew on the Marinera, which had been re-flagged as a Russian vessel, "will be brought to the United States for such prosecution if necessary."

The U.S. seized the Russian-flagged Marinera oil tanker -- formerly known as the Bella-1 -- which has been linked to Venezuela and was transiting the North Atlantic, according to three sources familiar with the operation. And it also seized another tanker, according to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

Russia has strongly condemned the U.S. seizure of an oil tanker. It heralds a new chill in relations between Moscow and Washington that could spread to other areas and affect President Donald Trump’s efforts to persuade Russia to end its nearly four-year war in Ukraine.

The U.S. European Command confirmed the seizure of the Marinera, a Venezuela-linked oil tanker formerly known as Bella-1. It said the vessel was seized for violations of U.S. sanctions and pursuant to a warrant issued by a U.S. federal court after being tracked by USCGC Munro.

The U.S. seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker that was being shadowed by a Russian submarine on Wednesday, after pursuing it for more than two weeks across the Atlantic as part of Washington's efforts to block Venezuelan oil exports,

US forces boarded and seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker on Wednesday after tracking it across the Atlantic for weeks. The aging vessel, originally called the Bella 1, was sanctioned by the US in 2024 for operating in a “shadow fleet” transporting illicit Iranian oil.

Venezuela’s oil reserves, the largest in the world, are also among the dirtiest, writes Chelsea Harvey. The South American crude is unusually heavy and requires an energy-intensive extraction process with relatively high levels of pollution as a result.