Cogito Ergo Non Serviam
US Seizes Russian-Flagged Tanker
The US continues to harass the Venezuelan regime over oil. The latest was the seizure a short time ago of a tanker that may be sailing under the Russian flag, and it was certainly in the North Atlantic. Not long ago, someone painted a Russian flag on the ship. It appears on the Russian registry of ships as the Marinera. The White House does not appear to recognize that and is treating the ship as stateless. The discussion over the fate of the ship and its cargo should be an interesting one between Washington and Moscow.
From the American perspective, the Venezuelan regime is a problem for the hemisphere. The arrest/kidnapping of Nicolas Maduro last week did not alter the fact that Marxist-Leninists run Venezuela and badly at that. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has wanted the government there changed for years, and he sees it as a key to finally toppling the government of Cuba. Oil from Venezuela has propped up Cuba for a while.
From the Russian point of view, the Americans have seized a Russian ship. There are no two ways about it. The big question is what will the Russians do now? They can ignore it by simply claiming a bureaucratic error, but that is unlikely. Instead, they will have to make some sort of objection. One can rule out violence at this stage, but angry discussions are inevitable.
Paul Sonne writing on the New York Times website stated “Russia’s response to the tanker seizure so far has been notably muted. For nearly a year, the Kremlin has been downplaying moments of tension with the United States, as Moscow looks to improve ties with Washington under President Trump. It is also Orthodox Christmas, an official holiday in Russia.”
Reports are that the ship was traveling from Iran to Venezuela when the US snatched Maduro, and so the course changed. The US caught up to it off the Icelandic coast. That raises the question of just what is the cargo? Iran would not send oil to Venezuela, which would be the modern version of coals to Newcastle. So what is there on board?
Something is fishy here. The US has had this ship under surveillance for some time, and it has been at sea throughout. Dmitry Medvedenko writing for Al Jazeera reported,
Mid-pursuit, it changes its registration to show that it's a Russian ship with a Russian flag reportedly painted on the hull. And then, Russia comes out with a statement saying, 'We are monitoring the situation around our vessel.'
Then the Russian Ministry of Transport comes out and says, 'It was only a temporary permission to fly a Russian flag.'
And now the Ministry of Foreign Affairs says, 'We want the US not to prevent the return of Russians from the marine vessel to the homeland and give them dignified and humane treatment of Russian citizens,' effectively confirming there are Russian citizens on board.
So these Russian citizens could only have been on board all this time, before it was actually recognised as a Russian ship.
Why? One suggestion, that does not as yet have any evidience to support it, is that there was an air defense system on board. That would explain a large number of Russians, as trainers and mechanics. But unless the White House says something, the world will never know.
It is not a surprise that Russia and Iran are helping Venezuela. What is a bit of a shock is that the Trump White House would not let this ship slip away because catching it would embarrass a great many in Moscow and possibly in Washington.
© Copyright 2026 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux.
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