London, 7 January 2026 (dpa/MIA) - Russia has deployed military vessels to protect an oil tanker reportedly fleeing from a US inspection, multiple media outlets have reported.

The ship, which has previously carried Venezuelan oil, was sailing under a Guyanese flag under the name "Bella 1" but is currently between Iceland and the British Isles after being reflagged as a Russian ship and renamed "The Marinera," according to a BBC report on Wednesday.

The tanker suddenly changed course to evade a search by the US Coast Guard, the Wall Street Journal and CBS reported. Russia has sent a submarine and other vessels to protect the tanker, the reports said.

The UK's Royal Air Force (RAF) appeared to have flown over the oil tanker as it crossed the North Atlantic, Britain's PA news agency reported.

Neither the White House nor the British government gave specific answers to queries.

"The US is the UK's most important defence and security partner," Prime Minister Keir Starmer's spokesman told the PA agency.

US President Donald Trump had already, before the military operation in Venezuela that led to the capture of President Nicolás Maduro, ordered a naval blockade for sanctioned oil tankers heading to Venezuela or leaving a port in the resource-rich country.

Western allies accuse Russia of using ageing tankers to circumvent sanctions.

Russia concerned about the situation 

The Foreign Ministry in Moscow said the ship is currently sailing under the flag of the Russian Federation in the waters of the North Atlantic in accordance with the norms of international maritime law, the Russian state news agency TASS reported.

For unclear reasons, it said, the US military and NATO were paying disproportionately close attention to its civilian status. A US Coast Guard vessel has been following the tanker for several days, even though it is about 4,000 kilometres from the US coast, it added.

The tanker had originally intended to call at Venezuela and is currently sailing without cargo, the Wall Street Journal reported.

After the course change, the US Coast Guard is said to have followed the ship, and only then did the crew paint the Russian flag on the side and change the registration.

The US Southern Command, which ovesees US military actiivities in Latin America and the Caribbean, wrote on Tuesday on X that it "remains ready to support" the US government "in standing against sanctioned vessels and actors transiting through this region."