The rusty oil tanker "Marinera", which is sailing in the Atlantic Ocean a few hundred kilometers south of Iceland on Wednesday, is receiving a lot of attention from both the United States and Russia.
Several American media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, are reporting that Russia has sent a submarine and other vessels to escort the ship. The newspaper cites an unnamed American official.
Meanwhile, several surveillance aircraft from the United States and allies have been observed in the area around the ship, the Financial Times reports.
Last month, the US Coast Guard attempted to board the ship, which was previously called "Bella 1", near the Caribbean Sea. The ship was supposed to have docked in Venezuela to be loaded with oil. But the US Coast Guard tried to seize the ship, which the US has sanctioned for allegedly transporting Iranian oil to the black market.
When the US tried to board the ship, it was, according to the White House, a stateless vessel sailing under a false flag. However, it has since been sold to a Russian company while at sea and has changed its name to "Marinera".
According to the Wall Street Journal, the crew themselves painted a Russian flag on the side of it.
The Russian Foreign Ministry, according to the state-run Russian news agency RIA, said it was following the situation surrounding the oil tanker with concern.
/ritzau/
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