Sanctioned Vessels, Pursuits at Sea: Tanker Trackers Keep Tabs

The pursuit of the Bella 1 oil tanker unfolded like something out of a Hollywood film. After the runaway vessel evaded capture by US forces near Venezuela in December, it went to great lengths to escape on the open sea: The crew switched off the boat’s transponders, changed its name to the Marinera and hastily painted a Russian flag on its hull, in hopes Moscow would come to its defense. By the time the US seized the ship off the coast of Iceland on Jan. 7, energy traders, analysts and politicos had been watching the chase unfold in real time ...