The U.S. Sold Two “Shadow Fleet” Tankers for Scrap. One of Them Switched to a Russian Flag During the Seizure

The U.S. sold two “shadow fleet” tankers for scrap. One of them switched to a Russian flag during the seizure

The deal included the tanker Era, which had previously sailed under the names Marinera and Bella 1, and Lileo, formerly known as Galileo and Veronica.

Both tankers were purchased in July by Dubai-based ship recycling company Global Marketing Systems (GMS). The amount of the deal is unknown.

According to GMS CEO Anil Sharma, "certain difficulties arose" during the sale of the tankers, "not least because we did not fully understand who exactly their previous owner was."

The tankers will be scrapped at shipbreaking yards in India.

The U.S. military seized the tanker Bella 1 on January 7 in the North Atlantic Ocean after several days of pursuit. During the operation, the vessel, which had initially sailed under a Panamanian flag, switched to a Russian flag and was renamed Marinera. Washington said the tanker had been used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran.

@meduzalive