Three Indian nationals were among the 28 crew members onboard a Russian-flagged oil tanker seized by the United States military on Wednesday, Russia Today (RT) reported.
The vessel, formerly known as the Bella-1, switched its registration to Russia, changed its name to the Marinera after it was intercepted last month by US forces. The attempt was however thwarted. On Wednesday, the US forces intercepted it again in the North Atlantic, Russia’s Transport Ministry said.
US authorities said the vessel was seized due to its alleged links to Venezuela, which is under US sanctions.
According to RT, the crew consisted of 28 people, including 17 Ukrainians, six Georgians, three Indians and two Russians.
After the seizure, Moscow had slammed the United States and said 'no state has right to use force against vessels duly registered under the jurisdiction of other states'
"In accordance with the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, freedom of navigation applies in waters on the high seas, and no state has the right to use force against vessels duly registered under the jurisdiction of other states," Russia's transport ministry said in a statement.
The incident follows a recent US Special Forces operation in Caracas that reportedly resulted in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
The United States also confimed the development on Wednesday. It said the military had seized two oil tankers linked to Venezuela in operations conducted in the North Atlantic and the Caribbean.
One of the vessels, the merchant tanker Bella 1, was Russian-flagged and had changed its name to Marinera after attempting to evade US enforcement actions near Venezuela last month.
The US Southern Command said a second vessel, the Panama-flagged M Sophia, was also seized, describing it as a “stateless, sanctioned dark-fleet motor tanker.”