The US has launched a bold raid on a Shadow Fleet tanker off the UK, risking confrontation with Russian ships and a submarine security vessel.

American troops have reportedly launched a daring mission to capture a rogue Shadow Fleet tanker with ties to Russia after hunting it across the Atlantic.

Vladimir Putin has deployed a submarine and naval ships to protect the rusting Marinera tanker as it attempts to avoid capture after failing to break Donald Trump’s Venezuela blockade.

The US Coast Guard and the US Army are carrying out a dramatic operation An anonymous American official told reuters,

The pictures show a lone helicopter approaching Marinera shortly before 1pm.

According to Russian state media outlet RT, the helicopter, believed to be carrying US special forces, then attempted to land on an oil tanker.

The ageing sanctions-evading ship, which Russia claims has nothing on board, has been closely monitored by US and UK forces after fleeing the Caribbean two weeks ago.

Find out more about the chaos surrounding the tanker.

showdown

The US sub hunter is facing off against Putin’s ships that are guarding the tanker, while Trump ‘plans to seize’ it.

in our view

The moment a US ship chased the ‘Axis of Evil’ tanker through fog near the British Isles was significant.

Tensions over what the Rustbucket was doing so close to Venezuela quickly escalated as the US began preparations to seize the ship by force.

Elite soldiers from US Navy SEAL Team 6 – the squad that killed Osama bin Laden – and commandos from the SAS-style Delta Force unit that captured Nicolas Maduro at the weekend are both believed to be involved in the mission after arriving in Britain on Tuesday.

It is unclear what Washington thinks is on the ship, with fears that it may be carrying top-secret military cargo such as missiles to Caracas.

Flight tracking data from this morning showed a P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft moving towards the tanker’s last known coordinates off the UK coast.

The jet took off from Keflavik, Iceland, as it was flown with a KC-135 Stratotanker for refuelling.

Boeing uses its Poseidon aircraft for anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, intelligence and surveillance, and reconnaissance missions.

This raid reportedly took place last month. A helicopter attack on another sanctioned tanker, The Skipper, occurred when US Marines, Special Forces, and the Coast Guard attacked the ship in the sea.

Planespotters reported witnessing a trio of V-22 US Ospreys practicing rapid rope pulls, while Poseidon naval spy planes monitored the tanker until it was captured.

Formerly called Bella 1 but now known as Marinera, the Venezuelan tanker is accused of being part of the so-called “shadow fleet,” a group of boats that illegally ship oil.

These ships that avoid sanctions help evade penalties, allowing “Axis of Evil” dictators like Nicolas Maduro and Putin to continue trading.

According to reports, the US Coast Guard also intercepted another tanker belonging to Venezuela in Latin American waters this afternoon.

The US Coast Guard attempted to board Bella 1 in the Caribbean last month, suspecting it was bound for Venezuela.

At the time, Washington suspected he might have been transporting Iranian oil.

They were unable to seize the ship, as its captain immediately changed course before heading to Venezuela.

According to reports, it managed to escape from the Caribbean and was heading towards the Russian port of Murmansk.

The ship, which can carry up to £37m worth of oil, changed its name to Marinera in December and bizarrely changed its flag from Guyanese to Russian.

Marinera has displayed Panamanian flags on various occasions before, but it is originally from Iran.

Ship tracking data detected the ship instantly reappearing 500 miles west in the North Atlantic, Ireland.

Tense footage taken by one of the boat’s crew shows the USCG Legend-class cutter carefully following behind the rogue tanker in the water this week.

American cargo planes loaded with Special Forces helicopters entered RAF Fairford as Marinera approached.

Soldiers from the US 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment – ​​known as the Nightstalkers – brought in Black Hawk and Chinook helicopters as they began planning to board the ship.

Three V-22 Ospreys from RAF Mildenhall also joined the force along with RAF Typhoon jets and KC2 refuelling aircraft, which were seen operating near the tanker’s last known position.

The pursuit comes as Washington squeezes Venezuela’s oil lifeline harder than ever.

on sanctioned Venezuelan oil tankers,

Since December 16, when Trump imposed a “complete and total blockade” on sanctioned Venezuelan oil tankers, more than a dozen ships have fled the country in what officials describe as a coordinated breakout effort.

Sixteen tankers—mostly supertankers bound for China—escaped using deceptive tactics, including fake ship names, false locations, and turning off tracking signals to operate in “dark mode.”

Satellite imagery shows some sailing in tight formation to the east. Others have disappeared from tracking systems entirely.

US officials see the migration as a direct challenge to US power at sea and a test of Trump’s blockade.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has called the quarantine “one of the largest in modern history” and said it is “crippling” the regime’s ability to raise cash.

Oil exports are Venezuela’s economic lifeblood.

Cutting them off is central to Washington’s strategy to suppress the remnants of the Maduro network and stabilise the country under interim leadership.

Trump also announced on Truth Social that up to $50 million worth of oil from Venezuela would be delivered to him in the coming weeks.