Coast Guard cutter USCGC Munro conducts maritime operations during the Bella 1 seizure in the north Atlantic Ocean on Jan. 7, 2025. The captain and first officer of the seized oil tanker are now aboard Munro, according to British media reports. (U.S. Coast Guard)
The captain and first officer of a runaway oil tanker seized in the north Atlantic Ocean by the American authorities earlier this month are now aboard a U.S. Coast Guard cutter after spending weeks in Scottish waters, according to U.K. news outlets.
Avtandil Kalandadze, the captain, and an unidentified first officer of the Russian-flagged tanker Marinera are aboard the USCGC Munro and were taken out of U.K. waters, the BBC reported on Tuesday. It was unclear whether Munro still was in the region Wednesday.
U.S. forces seized the Iran-linked oil tanker Jan. 7 near Iceland, capping more than two weeks of dogged pursuit after a failed boarding attempt in the Caribbean Sea in December.
The Justice Department notified Scotland of the transfer early Tuesday, the BBC reported, citing a Scottish attorney general.
The U.S. contacted Scottish authorities on Jan. 16 seeking help in starting extradition proceedings but withdrew the request Monday, according to the BBC report.
The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the Coast Guard, did not immediately respond Wednesday to requests for confirmation of the transfer of the men to U.S. authorities. The DOJ also had no immediate response to Stars and Stripes’ questions.
Scottish First Minister John Swinney was scheduled to update the country’s parliament about the situation on Wednesday, a government spokesman said in an email.
Two Russian crew members had been released and were on their way back to their country, Russian state news agency Tass reported Wednesday.
According to the BBC, arrangements are being made to fly five others to the U.S. The remaining crew members are from India, Georgia and Ukraine, the BBC reported.
Formerly called Bella I, the vessel was targeted for violating U.S. sanctions, which were imposed in 2024. The U.S. said it was smuggling cargo for a company linked to Hezbollah, one of several Middle East proxy groups funded by Iran.
The tanker and Munro had been in Scotland’s Moray Firth following the U.S. seizure of the vessel, the British media outlet Sky News reported Tuesday.
A court order issued Monday that barred the removal of the Marinera’s crew from Scottish jurisdiction came because of a petition filed by Natia Dzadzama, the wife of the ship’s captain.
But a judge rescinded that order during a virtual hearing Tuesday after learning of the transfer to the U.S., Sky News reported.
Dzadzama’s attorney, Aamer Anwar, told Sky News that the captain and first officer were “whisked away” at night.
The removal of the two men was “particularly troubling,” Anwar said, because it “occurred at the same time as a hearing” about foreign claims of immunity from the Scottish court’s order.
The remaining crew members are being processed at an army reserve center in Inverness, Sky News reported.
