The U.S. Coast Guard has paused any attempt to board and seize a Venezuela-linked oil tanker identified by maritime trackers as the Bella 1, while it waits for additional specialized forces to arrive, two sources told Reuters. The vessel has repeatedly refused boarding attempts, making the operation likely to fall to one of the service’s two Maritime Security Response Teams (MSRTs).
Because the Bella 1 has denied boarding, the Coast Guard would rely on highly trained teams that conduct resistant-ship boardings — including rappelling from helicopters — to take control of the vessel if ordered to do so.
Standoff Highlights Resource Strain
The multi-day pursuit illustrates a growing gap between the Trump administration’s aggressive push to intercept sanctioned oil tankers around Venezuela and the limited number of Coast Guard assets capable of carrying out these law-enforcement seizures. Unlike the U.S. Navy, the Coast Guard has the authority to conduct law-enforcement actions such as boarding and confiscating vessels subject to U.S. sanctions.
Earlier this month, President Trump ordered what he called a "blockade" on sanctioned tankers entering and leaving Venezuela as part of stepped-up pressure on President Nicolás Maduro. In recent weeks, the Coast Guard has carried out two tankers seizures near Venezuela; the first, on Dec. 10, was shown in a 45-second video posted by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi depicting helicopters approaching a vessel and armed personnel rappelling aboard.
A Department of Homeland Security social media post also showed apparent Coast Guard personnel aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford preparing to depart to seize the tanker Centuries, the second ship the U.S. has boarded in this campaign. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the MSRT personnel aboard the carrier were too distant from the Bella 1 at the time to attempt a boarding.
"There are limited teams who are trained for these types of boardings," said Corey Ranslem, CEO of maritime security firm Dryad Global and a former Coast Guard official.
Military Build-Up, But Coast Guard Shortfalls Persist
The White House said the United States remains in "active pursuit of a sanctioned dark fleet vessel that is part of Venezuela’s illegal sanctions evasion." Washington has assembled a substantial military presence in the Caribbean to support enforcement, including an aircraft carrier, fighter jets, Osprey aircraft and additional MC-130J transport planes deployed to Puerto Rico.
Still, the Coast Guard — which operates under the Department of Homeland Security — has far fewer specialized teams and assets available for an expanding set of missions. The service has repeatedly warned of a long-running readiness crisis and insufficient resources to manage growing demands, from search-and-rescue to counter-narcotics operations.
In November, the Coast Guard reported seizing roughly 49,000 pounds of drugs in the eastern Pacific with an estimated street value exceeding $362 million. Admiral Kevin Lunday, who leads the service, told lawmakers the Coast Guard is in a "severe readiness crisis that is decades in the making." For the fiscal year ending September 2026, the service requested $14.6 billion in funding and stands to receive an additional $25 billion through wide-ranging spending legislation referenced as the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act." Lunday has warned the service is "less ready than in any other time in the past 80 years since the end of World War Two."
Officials say the administration could still decide not to board the Bella 1. The Coast Guard and Department of Homeland Security did not immediately provide additional comment to Reuters.
(Reporting by Idrees Ali, Jonathan Saul and Trevor Hunnicutt; additional reporting by Ricardo Arduengo; editing by Don Durfee and Shri Navaratnam.)
