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LAST UPDATE | 21 hrs ago
A RUSSIAN FLAGGED oil tanker has been making headlines on both sides of the Atlantic in recent days.
The Irish Air Corps dispatched a plane 500 nautical miles off the Irish coast earlier this week to check in on what had become a high seas pursuit by US forces of the so-called Shadow Fleet vessel on its route from Venezuela.
There had also been a flurry of flights out to the vessel – by US and British anti-submarine aircraft.
That activity intensified over the last 48 hours, culminating in a large-scale raid this afternoon led by the US and supported by the UK.
US forces took control of the Marinera, previously known as Bella 1, shortly before 1pm Irish time.
The empty oil tanker had been en route to a rendezvous in Venezuela but turned around before Christmas and had been thought to be heading to Russia.
The US were running a blockade at the time the vessel initially changed course and had seized other oil tankers associated with Venezuela – it is believed that the vessel was coming to the South American country to collect oil.
The ship was pursued by American military forces, understood to be a US Coastguard Cutter, as it left waters around Venezuela – it is under US sanctions since 2024 because of alleged ties to Iran and Hezbollah.
While it was being pursued the crew painted a makeshift Russian flag on its hull and changed its name on ship tracking software.
It has been reported that Russian authorities accepted the vessel into their registrar of ships.
An Irish Airbus 295 maritime surveillance aircraft headed out to the vessel from its base in Baldonnel on Monday of this week.
Secrecy surrounds why Ireland sent the aircraft out to the ship but it is understood that the Air Corps followed a request from Government to develop a report on the situation.
The Shadow Fleet of Russian oil smugglers are a constant presence in the Irish EEZ.
The fleet of more than 500 vessels is used by Russia to dodge sanctions imposed after Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. For example, yesterday evening a Russian Shadow Fleet tanker passed up the west coast – temporarily observed by an Irish Air Corps aircraft which spotted her off the Mayo coast.
But despite the smuggling activity closer to home the eyes of the world remained on the North Atlantic in recent days as the Americans pursued the ship now known as the Marinera.
While the ship under international maritime law has right of free passage in open sea, there is a caveat that if the ship is stateless she can be seized.
Given that the Bella 1 changed her flag to Russia’s mid-voyage this means that she is de facto stateless.
This is what has prompted the US to move on the vessel.
“The vessel was seized in the North Atlantic pursuant to a warrant issued by a US federal court,” US European Command, which oversees American forces in the region, said in a statement on X.
The @TheJusticeDept & @DHSgov, in coordination with the @DeptofWar today announced the seizure of
— U.S. European Command (@US_EUCOM) January 7, 2026
the M/V Bella 1 for violations of U.S. sanctions. The vessel was seized in the North Atlantic pursuant to a warrant issued by a U.S. federal court after being tracked by USCGC Munro. pic.twitter.com/bm5KcCK30X
The Irish involvement in all this is minimum – the ship was far away from Irish waters and steaming in the opposite direction when she was seized.
The issue is that the US Poseidon aircraft, which are capable of carrying torpedoes and other offensive devices, crossed over Ireland from bases in the UK on at least three occasions in the last 48 hours.
The British sent up aircraft also, including an exceptionally advanced Rivet Joint eavesdropping spy plane. That aircraft did not cross into Irish airspace despite the RAF having an agreement to use Irish airspace.
The issue of overflights is a hot topic given Ireland’s claimed neutral status.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee has sole authority to grant such a passage of the aircraft. Her powers are conferred on her through a Statutory Instrument, which is not delegable to officials.
In a previous comment in the Dáil, McEntee said that flights can be granted if the aircraft is unarmed and does not engage in surveillance. The Poseidon has capability to do both.
A frustrated US security source said that there has been a lack of clarity by Irish authorities in some commentary. That source told The Journal that all diplomatic clearances have been followed and all US military flights over Ireland in recent days have been done in accordance with Irish law.
That has been backed up by Shannon based Air Traffic Control interactions which The Journal has heard. We listened as Irish civilian air controllers challenged the US aircraft if they had diplomatic clearance and on each occasion they confirmed.
Speaking this afternoon McEntee said that the Irish Government had been in touch with the US embassy about reports of US military planes tracking the vessel and whether they were granted permission to fly in Irish airspace.
She cited a 1959 legal agreement between Ireland and the US which states that prior sign off from Irish authorities is not required unless there are weapons on board or if there is an operation in place.
“We’ve been in touch with the US embassy, and they’ve assured us that they have complied with the 1959 agreement, but I have asked my officials to engage further and to provide me with a full report on that, and it’s important that I see that.
“But it is for them to make sure that they comply with the agreement, and they’ve been very clear that they have complied with that agreement.”
This was also echoed by the Department of Foreign Affairs in a statement this evening.
“The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has been in contact with the US Embassy in Dublin in relation to US military overflights this week and has received assurances that the flights in question met the requirements of the specific arrangement for US military overflights that has been in place since 1959.
“Further details on the specific arrangement with the US and statistics on overflights, including from the US, can be found on the website of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade here.”
- With reporting from PA
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