WASHINGTON, Jan 7 (Reuters) - The United States is attempting to seize a Russian-flagged oil tanker with links to Venezuela after a more than two-week-long pursuit across the Atlantic and as a Russian submarine and warship were close by, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Wednesday.
The seizure, which could stoke tensions with Russia, came after the tanker, originally known as the Bella-1, slipped through a U.S. maritime "blockade" of sanctioned tankers and rebuffed U.S. Coast Guard efforts to board it.
The officials, who were speaking on condition of anonymity, said the operation was being carried out by the Coast Guard and U.S. military.
This appeared to be the first time in recent memory that the U.S. military has attempted to seize a Russian-flagged vessel.
They added that Russian military vessels were in the general vicinity of the operation, including a Russian submarine. It was unclear how close the vessels were to the operation, which was taking place close to Iceland.
TANKER IS AMONG VESSELS TARGETED BY U.S.
The U.S. Coast Guard first attempted to intercept the vessel last month, but it refused to be boarded. Since then, it has registered under a Russian flag.
The tanker, now known as the Marinera, is the latest tanker targeted by the U.S. Coast Guard since the start of U.S. President Donald Trump's pressure campaign against Venezuela.
Separately, the U.S. Coast Guard has also intercepted another Venezuela-linked tanker in Latin American waters, U.S. officials told Reuters, as the U.S. continues enforcing a maritime "blockade" of sanctioned vessels from Venezuela.
The moves come just days after U.S. special forces swooped into Caracas before dawn on Saturday in a deadly raid to seize President Nicolas Maduro and take him to the United States. The U.S. military turned him over to federal authorities for prosecution on charges involving alleged drug trafficking.
Top Venezuelan officials have called Maduro's capture a kidnapping and have accused the U.S. of trying to steal the country's vast oil reserves, estimated to be the largest in the world.
In turn, Trump and top U.S. officials have accused Venezuela of stealing U.S. oil,in an apparent reference to the country's nationalization of its energy sector in several waves over the past half-century.
(Reporting by Idrees Ali and Phil StewartEditing by Andrew Heavens and Frances Kerry)
