The Russian government has formally requested its U.S. counterpart to stop pursuing the tanker that has been fleeing Washington forces after attempting to reach Venezuela.
The New York Times detailed that the request was delivered late on New Year’s Eve to the State Department, as well as the White House’s Homeland Security Council
The U.S. has not given a formal response to the request and doesn’t appear to have stopped pursuing the vessel.
The tanker has also changed its name and has been added to an official Russian database, according to another report.
The New York Times noted that the ship has been renamed as the Marinera and has Sochi as a home port, noting that under international law vessels flying a country’s flag are under the nation’s protection.
However, U.S. officials said the ship was not flying a valid national flag when it first approached it, meaning it could be boarded under international law. In the meantime, it has changed course and is heading north, no longer expected to return to Venezuela to load up on oil.
CNN detailed that the Trump administration could decide to abandon the effort to seize the ship, which has turned off its transponder for weeks now. It is unclear whether the request from Moscow will have an impact on the administration’s decision.
The tanker has been under U.S. sanctions for a year for transporting Iranian oil that authorities say is sold to finance terrorist activities. Officials obtained a seizure warrant but haven’t boarded the vessel.
The Wall Street Journal noted last week that the U.S. has called a Maritime Special Response Team, an elite force trained to board hostile ships, to board the ship.
This is the first of three tankers targeted by the U.S. that has resisted being seized. It isn’t publicly known why the ship has taken the stance, with the WSJ noting that most commercial vessels have little incentive to disobey the orders of U.S. armed forces.
“They are probably getting orders from somewhere,” retired Rear Adm. William Baumgartner told the outlet. “These are owned by very bad people trying to make money in a particular manner.”
The strategy plays a large role in the Trump administration’s goal of forcing Maduro out. Another report detailed that the White House ordered military forces to focus on enforcing a “quarantine” of tankers.
Originally published on Latin Times
