NEW YORK, January 9. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump said that the United States has already begun unloading oil from the tanker Marinera, which was seized by US authorities and was sailing under the Russian flag.
"We took [the vessel], it’s unloading the oil," the head of the Washington administration said in an interview with Fox News. He declined to answer a question on whether he had held a phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin following the seizure of the tanker. "I don’t want to say that," Trump said when asked whether such a conversation had taken place.
Russia’s Ministry of Transport earlier reported that at around 3:00 p.m. Moscow time on January 7, US servicemen boarded the tanker Marinera on the high seas. The ministry stressed that, under the provisions of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the high seas are governed by the principle of freedom of navigation, and no state has the right to use force against vessels that are duly registered under the jurisdiction of other states. On December 24, 2025, the Marinera received temporary authorization to sail under the Russian state flag, issued in accordance with Russian legislation and the norms of international law.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry called on Washington to return to compliance with the fundamental norms and principles of international maritime navigation and to immediately cease its unlawful actions against the Marinera, as well as against other vessels lawfully operating on the high seas. The ministry also noted that Russia considers US threats of criminal prosecution against the vessel’s crew to be categorically unacceptable, adding that references by the American side to its "sanctions legislation" in connection with the seizure of the tanker are unfounded.