European allies are monitoring at least three more suspected runaway Russian tankers making their way across the Atlantic, The i Paper can reveal.
Days after British forces helped the US seize a Russian tanker, Bella 1, just over 100 miles from UK waters north-west of Scotland, at least three of Vladimir Putin’s suspected shadow fleet are heading east in the same direction.
The crude-oil tankers are sanctioned by either the UK or US for facilitating illicit Russian or Iranian trades.
Faced with the prospect of another American operation to seize these ships near to British seas, UK-based Nato officials are closely monitoring them.
One, the Vesna, sailing under the flag of Guyana, was sighted east of Grenada, in the Caribbean, on Sunday, heading on a course indicating passage to Russia’s northern border. The ship was sanctioned by the Foreign Office in July for facilitating Russian trades which undermine the security of Ukraine.
Another, Veronica III, was sanctioned by the US in 2024, and has recently reflagged as Russian and changed its name to Galileo.
A third, Bertha, remains sanctioned by the US Treasury for moving illicit Iranian oil.
They are being followed by a US Navy destroyer, according to the The New York Times, which reported that American military officials had said to expect more boardings of sanctioned vessels.
While the exact courses and destinations of the three runaway tankers is unknown, satellite imagery provided by Starboard Maritime Intelligence showed them heading towards either Africa or Europe.
At least 50 suspected shadow tankers have closed in on UK waters in the past few days. An increase in sea ice closing the northern passage along Russia’s Arctic coast is pushing more vessels to take the route towards Britain.
The latest runaway tankers are among 16 vessels that have been trying to escape the US naval blockade of Venezuela in recent days, following Donald Trump’s night raid on Caracas. In response, the White House has conducted seizures of five ships in the last month.
The latest came on Friday, when US special forces boarded the Olina as it carried a full load of oil out of Venezuelan waters.
UK-based Nato officials are monitoring the vessels as part of the group’s Allied Maritime Command (Marcom) ambition to bridge the gap between military and commercial shipping intelligence, two Nato sources told The i Paper.
From its headquarters in Britain, Nato officials are working with allies in Europe and the US to share information about suspected vessels. While the alliance is monitoring the ships, the decision to board them remains in the hands of its members, the sources said.
“There’s a lot of information sharing and analysis that comes from Marcom,” a Nato official said. “The decisions to plausibly or potentially interdict the vessel come from allies, not the alliance, and allies make those decisions for their own national reasons.
They added: “Allies are looking at specific vessels of interest that may be some sort of national security threat.”
Nato was also monitoring the situation on Wednesday when US special forces boarded the Bella-1 in a stretch of ocean between Scotland and Iceland. Following the operation, Defence Secretary John Healey described disrupting the shadow fleet as a “priority for the Government”.
When asked about Nato’s role in a similar operation against the three runaway tankers currently making their way across the Atlantic, Commander Arlo Abrahamson, spokesperson for Marcom, said officials would “work closely with allies” to “share information” about vessels of interest.
“Allies routinely coordinate efforts to ensure the region maintains free and open sea lanes and we collectively address threats and challenges in maritime domain,” he added.
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Ahead of the seizure of the Bella-1, which was renamed Marinera as it crossed the Atlantic, a build-up of US aircraft made its way to air bases in the UK.
On Friday, US special forces aircraft were seen conducting flights from RAF Mildenhall into Benbecula, in Scotland’s Outer Hebridies, while a CV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft – which is used in the boarding of vessels – conducted a test flight out of RAF Fairford.
James Everard, Nato’s deputy supreme allied commander Europe until 2021, said nations can sieze suspected ships “if they do not take counsel of their fears”, and called for “actions, not words.”
He added: “Tackling the shadow fleet is necessary. Our failure to do so has been evidence of our weakness. You need to be politically bold to push pass the legal minefield, but now that the US have shown us the way perhaps we will see these operations accelerating.”
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