Trump set another precedent to intercept commodity vessel

[ftan42]

On January 7, 2026, U.S. forces captured the Marinera (formerly known as Bella 1), a Russian-flagged oil tanker, in the North Atlantic within Iceland's exclusive economic zone. At the same time, another vessel, the M Sophia, registered under Panama's flag, was intercepted in the Caribbean Sea.
Russia has intercepted 12 U.S. commodity vessels in response to the U.S. seizure of sanctioned oil tankers, though this claim lacks support from current news and verified information. Russia has strongly criticized the U.S. actions.

 

[winners]

Wonders why the Russian sub and its navy nearby would just watch helplessly when the capturing had occurred? To Ukraine it acts like a tiger but to the US, it acts like a tame cat. WTF?

 

[ftan42]

The Russia escorts vessels are outnumbered by the US and British by at 2-3 times consisting of multi-use, tiltrotor military transport plane, helicopter, 2x surveillance aircrafts, multiple gunships in the pursuit
Russia is not fighting Ukraine alone, but facing 32 NATO nations and the US, with maybe Japan, Korea, and some other nations

 

[searcher1]

Wonders why the Russian sub and its navy nearby would just watch helplessly when the capturing had occurred? To Ukraine it acts like a tiger but to the US, it acts like a tame cat. WTF?

Russian forces would likely not be "helpless" but would be operating under political constraints. Direct military intervention would risk a major war over a single tanker—a cost Russia would likely deem disproportionate. Instead, they would gather evidence, protest vehemently through diplomatic channels, and likely plan for asymmetric or political retaliation at a time and place of their choosing. The presence of their naval assets serves more as an intelligence and deterrence patrol rather than a guarantee of armed intervention in every situation.

 

[Leongsam]

Wonders why the Russian sub and its navy nearby would just watch helplessly when the capturing had occurred? To Ukraine it acts like a tiger but to the US, it acts like a tame cat. WTF?

Putin is scared of Trump because he knows he can't mess with the best!

 

[ftan42]

Putin is scared of Trump because he knows he can't mess with the best!

Putin clings to the hope that Trump can negotiate a peace treaty favorable to Russia, thus he avoids a massive attack on Ukraine involving US/NATO forces. However, following the interception of two vessels, Putin retaliated by launching the Odesnik missile at Lviv with few other missiles and hundred of drones at various locations.