An oil tanker that American forces have been pursuing in the Atlantic Ocean has changed its name and reflagged as a Russian-registered vessel in a possible effort to avoid seizure.

The ship was bound for Venezuela and was not flying a valid flag when American forces sought to stop it on December 20. The tanker made an abrupt U-turn and raced back into the Caribbean Sea after refusing to be boarded.

The Coast Guard has been tracking it ever since but has not attempted to board it as it waits for guidance from the White House.

The crew painted a Russian flag on the side of the aging steel ship in recent days, according to the New York Times.

This week, the ship, formerly known as the Bella 1 was renamed the Marinera and now appears in the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping. The tanker — reportedly owned by Turkey-based Louis Marine Shipholding Enterprises — lists the Black Sea port city of Sochi as its home.

The claim of Russian registration could complicate American plans to seize the ship as part of a crackdown on Venezuelan sanctions evasions because it may no longer be stateless.

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea states that a ship is allowed to be boarded on the high seas if it is flying false flags or operates without a valid registration. But Article 92 of the convention also states: “A ship may not change its flag during a voyage or while in a port of call, save in the case of a real transfer of ownership or change of registry.”

“The US is likely working through diplomatic channels to determine if it’s actually registered in Russia,” the former director of legal affairs at the International Maritime Organization, retired Rear Admiral Fred Kenney, told United 24 Media.

“Merely painting a flag on the side of a hull does not immediately grant that ship that nationality,” he added.

The ship-tracking Marine Traffic website — considered authoritative — shows the ship has undergone a series of name and ownership changes over the past decade.

America has sanctioned the formerly named Bella 1 for allegedly carrying Iranian oil for Hezbollah and the Houthis. Officials believe the ship is part of a “shadow fleet” of aging oil tankers that move oil from sanctioned countries like Russia, Iran, and Venezuela to buyers around the world like China and India, the Wall Street Journal reported.

President Trump announced a “total and complete blockade” of oil tankers coming from Venezuela as he builds pressure to try to force President Nicolás Maduro from power. The American military has seized two oil tankers carrying Venezuelan crude oil in recent weeks.

The Trump administration announced a series of new companies and ships facing sanctions this week. It claims that Mr. Maduro’s regime is increasingly dependent on the shadow fleet to avoid sanctions. The Treasury Department warned that companies and individuals involved in the Venezuelan oil trade face significant sanctions risks.

“President Trump has been clear: We will not allow the illegitimate Maduro regime to profit from exporting oil while it floods the United States with deadly drugs,” the Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, said in a statement. “The Treasury Department will continue to implement President Trump’s campaign of pressure on Maduro’s regime.”

The United States military has been building up forces in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific for several months, sinking at least 30 boats suspected of drug trafficking. The United States Southern Command has posted several videos on X this week showing lethal kinetic strikes on small boats accused of narco-trafficking from Venezuela. The latest strike killed five people on New Year’s Eve.Also on Monday, Mr. Trump confirmed a Christmas Eve attack on a dock in Venezuela that he said was being used to load drugs onto boats. He wouldn’t identify the agency or military service involved but the New York Times reported it was carried out by the CIA.