The oil tanker Bella 1, seized by US forces on Wednesday, has been owned since late December by a Russian company whose founder is a businessman originally from Russia-annexed Crimea, according to media investigations.
The vessel – also known as Marinera – was transferred to Burevestmarin, a firm registered in Russia’s Ryazan region, reports by the Financial Times and the BBC Russian Service show.
Founded in July 2025 by Russian businessman Ilya Bugai, Burevestmarin appears to be active in maritime trade, with job postings linking it to shipping operations, outlets report.
According to Novaya Gazeta Europe, citing Russia’s Unified State Register of Legal Entities, Bugai, originally from Russia-annexed Crimea and now based in Moscow, also leads a Russian oil trading company that has seen volatile finances in recent years.
The Marinera, formerly called Bella 1, had avoided US efforts to block Venezuelan oil for more than two weeks before it was finally seized.
At first, the ship was sailing under a Guyanese flag, starting its journey from Iran, then stopping in Venezuela before heading out again.
In late December, as the US Coast Guard tried to stop the ship in the Caribbean, the crew refused to follow orders and changed course, triggering a chase.
During the pursuit, the crew painted a Russian flag on the hull. A few days later, the vessel was officially renamed Marinera and registered under the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping.
Sources in the Trump administration told several outlets that Russia may have sent a submarine and other naval ships to escort the tanker to safety, although the Kremlin has not confirmed this.
By early January, the tanker was widely reported as sailing under the Russian flag, a move that complicated the legal and diplomatic arguments around the US seizure.
US Vice President JD Vance later described Bella 1 as a “fake Russian tanker,” accusing its operators of attempting to pose as a Russian vessel to evade sanctions in comments to Fox News.
Following the seizure, Russia’s Ministry of Transport of Russia said the tanker had received temporary permission to sail under the Russian flag.
The ministry argued that under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, freedom of navigation applies on the high seas and states have no right to use force against vessels properly registered in other jurisdictions.
The broader picture
On the same day, the US Coast Guard seized another Venezuela-linked oil tanker – the Sophia – in the Caribbean. Writing on X, US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem described the crews of the two tankers as “criminals.”
“You can run, but you can’t hide. We will never relent in our mission to protect the American people and disrupt the funding of narco terrorism wherever we find it, period,” she added.
Her comments echo those of US War Secretary Pete Hegseth, who said that the US “continues to enforce the blockade against all dark fleet vessels illegally transporting Venezuelan oil to finance illicit activity, stealing from the Venezuelan people.”
“Only legitimate and lawful energy commerce – as determined by the US – will be permitted,” he added.
The seizures follow Trump’s shock announcement on Saturday that US troops had entered Venezuela and “captured” Venezuelan President Nicola Maduro from his Caracas palace. A court in New York charged Maduro with drug trafficking offenses on Tuesday.