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US Boarding Russian-Flagged Oil Tanker Breaks Precedent: High Stakes on the High Seas
If the US no longer abides by rules, how does it expect revisionist states to do so?
In the first week of January 2026, the world watched as one extraordinary moment followed another, notably the US action in Venezuela and the US pursuit and boarding of an (alleged – more on this later) Russian-flagged ship in the North Atlantic. As well as sharing a principal actor, the US, there is another common factor: the apparent flouting of near-universally accepted international laws, enabled by impressive military might. We consider here the second of these incidents: the maritime interdiction of an oil tanker by the US Coast Guard in the North Atlantic, miles from their usual operating area.
A little background: since late 2025 the US has taken what it claims to be legitimate action against Venezuela, including the interdiction of boats and ships suspected of carrying drugs, sanctioned oil and other contraband. On 20 December, US authorities tried to board an oil tanker, Bella 1, but the master and crew resisted, and the vessel fled into the Atlantic. At that point the ship was a known sanctions-breaker and part of the so-called shadow fleet. Bella 1 was reportedly owned by a Turkish company and registered in Guyana, but it was most probably flying a false flag. Guyana insists that it is not a flag of convenience and that it does not operate an open registry for shipping.
There are a host of cases throughout the last century which set customary practice and precedent, and ultimately became enshrined in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which set out when a ship could be interdicted on the high seas. Short answer: in very limited circumstances. The valid reasons are piracy, slavery, unauthorised broadcasting, or when the same nationality as the interdicting vessel, or if the ship is without nationality. It is this last justification which is pertinent here. At the time of the first US Coast Guard attempt to board Bella 1 she was flying a flag that had no registry attached to it and thus the ship appeared to be stateless, and therefore liable to interdiction on the high seas. That scenario would then allow the US or another third party, once in control of the vessel, to exert their jurisdiction; in this case sanctions regulations.
Original article link: https://www.rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/commentary/us-boarding-russian-flagged-oil-tanker-breaks-precedent-high-stakes-high-seas
