January 28, 2026 — Dalena Reporters
Moscow has confirmed that two Russian sailors who were aboard a tanker recently seized by the United States in the Atlantic Ocean have been released and are returning home, Russian officials said on Wednesday.
The tanker — identified as the Marinera was seized earlier this month amid U.S. claims that it was part of a so-called “shadow fleet” transporting oil from countries including Venezuela, Russia and Iran in violation of U.S. sanctions. U.S. authorities stated that the vessel and crew could face legal action.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told the state-run RIA Novosti news agency that the United States has now released the two crew members, who were the captain and first officer, and that they are en route back to Russia.
Zakharova’s statement confirmed earlier announcements by Russian officials about the planned release, although Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had indicated last week that the decision had not yet been carried out.
At a court hearing in Scotland, which has jurisdiction over the tanker as it passed through UK waters, prosecutors said that 26 of the ship’s 28 crew members have already left the vessel. The captain and first officer are understood to be aboard a U.S. Coast Guard vessel leaving UK territorial waters as part of their journey home.