MOSCOW, January 15. /TASS/. Moscow will regard the implementation of the UK’s threat to intercept Russian ships as a direct violation of maritime law, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing.
On January 7, the UK Ministry of Defense said that, at the request of US authorities, it had assisted in the capture of the Russian oil tanker Marinera, also known as Bella 1, in the Atlantic Ocean. The United Kingdom provided air bases to the US Air Force, deployed reconnaissance aircraft to track the Marinera, and sent the Royal Auxiliary Fleet tanker Tideforce to support US military personnel.
"Against the backdrop of this incident, London has begun to consider using the 2018 national sanctions and money laundering law as a legal basis for deploying British armed forces to detain vessels on the high seas which, in London’s view, are bypassing the unilateral and unlawful restrictions imposed by the West itself. This approach is aimed at harming Russian interests. We will regard the implementation of such aggressive intentions as a direct violation of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, a document the British themselves consistently urge to uphold," Zakharova said.
She also reiterated that the claim by British Secretary of State for Defense John Healey that the Marinera was sailing under a foreign flag is unfounded.
Earlier, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a regular briefing that the US administration could bring the crew of the Marinera tanker to the United States for trial over possible violations of federal law. The White House maintains that the Marinera is part of Venezuela’s shadow fleet and was illegally transporting oil in violation of US sanctions. On January 9, Zakharova said that US President Donald Trump had decided to release two Russian crew members from the Marinera following an appeal from Moscow.