US indicts captain of oil tanker chased by the coast guard for weeks
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It is the first time the US crackdown on Venezuelan oil has resulted in criminal charges.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Nicholas Nehamas, Seamus Hughes and Christiaan Triebert
WASHINGTON - The United States indicted the captain of an oil tanker that led US forces on a weekslong chase across the Atlantic Ocean after being stopped on its way to Venezuela, the first time President Donald Trump’s crackdown on Venezuelan oil has resulted in criminal charges.
The captain, Avtandil Kalandadze, was charged with two federal crimes, according to the Feb 12 indictment, which has not previously been reported.
The first count accused Kalandadze of falsely flying the flag of Guyana on the tanker – the ship was not registered in that country – in an attempt to evade being seized by the US Coast Guard on Dec 20. The second accuses Kalandadze of failing to obey an order from the Coast Guard to stop the tanker and allow US forces to board it.
Instead, the ship, then known as Bella 1, which had been sailing in the Caribbean Sea toward Venezuela, turned back into the Atlantic, chased by US forces. Along the way, the ship changed its name to Marinera and claimed Russian protection. Its crew painted a Russian flag on the tanker’s side, and it was registered in Russia’s official ship database.
The Russian government used diplomatic channels to request that the United States stop chasing the tanker. But US forces boarded and seized the ship on Jan 7, near the United Kingdom, detaining Kalandadze and the rest of the crew.
The seizure of the ship was part of Mr Trump’s attempt to take control of Venezuela’s multibillion-dollar oil industry. So far, the United States has boarded eight other vessels involved in the Venezuelan oil trade. The ships are part of a so-called ghost fleet transporting oil from Venezuela, Iran or Russia around the globe in violation of sanctions placed by the United States and other countries.
US authorities had obtained a seizure warrant for the Bella 1 based on its history of transporting Iranian oil for groups linked to terrorism.
After the ship was seized, Kalandadze’s wife, Ms Natia Dzadzama, initiated an unsuccessful legal challenge in the United Kingdom, seeking a judicial review of her husband’s detention, according to local media reports.
Mr Aamer Anwar, a lawyer for Dzadzama, said in a statement on Feb 17 that “the US has once again shown a total disregard for the rule of law and international obligations with its closest ally, the UK”.
The White House and the Justice Department did not immediately reply to requests for comment.
The BBC reported in January that the United States planned to charge another member of the crew but had released the remaining 26 crew members. NYTIMES
