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Russia’s top diplomat Sergey Lavrov said two of the Russian sailors onboard an oil tanker captured by the US have not been released despite earlier US pledges.
The US has yet to release the two Russian sailors onboard the Marinera tanker captured in the North Atlantic, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday.
The Russian-flagged vessel under sanctions, previously known as Bella-1, wasseized by US forces on Jan. 7 after evading a US blockade onVenezuelan oil for over two weeks and being pursued across the Atlantic Ocean.
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Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Jan. 9 that US President Donald Trump had pledged to release the two Russian sailors, according to Russia outletAstra, but Lavrov said on Tuesday the promises remained unfulfilled.
“The following days have shown that this decision is not being implemented. We expect our American colleagues to fulfill their promise,” Lavrov said, per Astra’slatest report.
The Marinera consists of a 28-member crew – 2 from Russia, 3 from India, 6 from Georgia and 17 from Ukraine.
CNBC reported on Jan. 13 that all three Indian crew members had been released, while the fate of the 17 Ukrainian crew members remained unclear as of that date, according to Ukrainian news outletLIGA.
“As of today [Jan. 13], the situation with the sailors is as follows. There are 17 Ukrainian citizens among the crew of the Bella-1. This information was confirmed by the US State Department. The vessel is still at sea,” the Ukrainian Embassy in the US told the outlet.
Kyiv Post has reached out to Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comments, but received no immediate response at the time of publication.
According to media investigations, the oil tanker Bella 1 – also known as Marinera – has been owned since late December by a Russian company whose founder is a businessman originally from Crimea, occupied by Russia since 2014.
At first,the ship was sailing under a Guyanese flag, starting its journey from Iran, then stopping in Venezuela before heading out again.
In late December, as the US Coast Guard tried to stop the ship in the Caribbean, the crew refused to follow orders and changed course, triggering a chase.
During the pursuit, the crew painted a Russian flag on the hull. A few days later, the vessel was officially renamed Marinera and registered under the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping.
The vessel was transferred to Burevestmarin, a firm registered in Russia’s Ryazan region, according to reports by theFinancial Times and theBBC Russian Service.
Founded in July 2025 by Russian businessman Ilya Bugai, Burevestmarin appears to be active in maritime trade, with job postings linking it to shipping operations.
According toNovaya Gazeta Europe, citing Russia’s Unified State Register of Legal Entities, Bugai, originally from Crimea and now based in Moscow, also leads a Russian oil trading company that has seen volatile finances in recent years.
Leo Chiu is a journalist and editor based in Eastern Europe since 2015. He has witnessed two presidential elections in Belarus and traveled widely to conflict zones and contested regions, producing reporting that bridges the gap between major developments and local realities.
