US prepares to indict crew of shadowy tanker «Bella 1»

Crew members of the Russian-flagged “shadow fleet” tanker may be extradited to the United States.

The US Department of Justice has announced the preparation of criminal charges against the crew members of the sanctioned tanker Bella 1. This was reported by US Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Recall that the vessel was detained on January 7 in the North Atlantic for transporting Iranian and Venezuelan oil in circumvention of sanctions. The crew ignored Coast Guard orders and tried to escape. Proceedings will be opened against the persons involved. The US is also monitoring other vessels for possible similar actions.

The White House clarified that after the execution of the warrant for the arrest of the vessel, its crew is subject to criminal prosecution for violating federal law and may be transported to the United States for proceedings – if necessary. The administration emphasized that it will strictly ensure compliance with the sanctions policy.

“The vessel had a legal warrant for arrest. This means that the crew is subject to criminal prosecution for any relevant violation of federal law, and, if necessary, they will be brought to the United States for such prosecution,” White House spokeswoman Caroline Levitt emphasized.

Washington considers the vessel to have been actually flying a false flag (after attempting to change its name and jurisdiction) and qualifies it as not belonging to any country.

As USM wrote the day before, five tankers near Venezuela have already changed their flags to Russian ones.