US military seizes Russian-flagged oil tanker M/T Sophia in North Atlantic

The United States military on Wednesday announced the seizure of a Russian-flagged oil tanker called M/T Sophia in the North Atlantic for sanctions violations, bringing an end to a multi-week pursuit by American forces.

The seizure of the ship, which evaded being boarded near Venezuela, was a joint operation between the Department of Homeland Security and US military personnel, the US European Command, which is responsible for the region, said in a post on X.

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Having deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, Washington is blockading sanctioned vessels in and out of the waters off the South American OPEC member. The US Coast Guard and military were trying to take a tanker that refused to be boarded last month and was sailing under a Russian flag, two officials said.

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With a Russian submarine and vessels nearby after a two-week pursuit in the Atlantic, the move risked more confrontation with Moscow, which has condemned US actions over Venezuela and is already at odds with the West due to the Ukraine war.

The US Coast Guard also intercepted another fully-loaded Venezuela-linked tanker near the northeast coast of South America, the officials said, in the fourth such case of recent weeks.

(With inputs from Reuters)