The first White House press briefing of the year has started. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt acknowledges "there is a lot of news out there today" and says she will answer questions.

But first she is covering has some domestic issues to cover first, Leavitt says, flanked by senior officials including Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr.

Separately, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is also speaking to reporters. You'll be able to watch their updates live at the top of the page, and we will bring you any lines related to the seizure of the tanker.

We are expecting to hear a news briefing from the White House in the next few minutes.

Click watch live at the top of the page to follow along.

Image source, Reuters

Vitaly Shevchenko
BBC Monitoring's Russia editor

Russia's foreign ministry has demanded that the US ensure "humane and proper treatment of Russian citizens aboard the Marinera", calling for their rights and interests to be observed.

It adds that the US must not hamper their soonest return to Russia.

Tracking military aircraft near Marinera oil tankerpublished at 15:57 GMT 7 January

15:57 GMT 7 January

by Joshua Cheetham

BBC Verify has been monitoring military flights around the area of the North Atlantic where the Marinera has been seized by US authorities.

Tracking data from sites including FlightRadar24 show three Pilatus U-28A Draco aircraft en route from Wick Airport in Scotland to Reykjavik in Iceland.

Earlier today, the same aircraft flew from RAF Mildenhall in England. These planes are typically used by US Air Force Special Operations Command for reconnaissance and other specialist missions.

Available flight records show they have been primarily active in North America over the last two years.

Several other US aircraft have flown around the west coast of Scotland and south of Iceland, including a Poseidon reconnaissance plane and a Boeing KC-135T Stratotanker used for refuelling. The Stratotanker has now turned back towards RAF Mildenhall, from where it departed earlier today.

It is unclear if all of these flights are involved with monitoring the Marinera. But the area of operation corresponds with the location of the oil tanker during this period.

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

The UK Ministry of Defence says it supported US efforts to seize the Russian-flagged tanker in the North Atlantic today, including with RAF aircraft.

Here's a statement from UK Defence Secretary John Healey:

"Today our UK Armed Forces showed skill and professionalism in support of a successful U.S. interception of the vessel Bella 1 while on its way to Russia.

"This action formed part of global efforts to crack down on sanctions busting.

"This ship, with a nefarious history, is part of a Russian-Iranian axis of sanctions evasion which is fuelling terrorism, conflict, and misery from the Middle East to Ukraine.

"The UK will continue to step up our action against shadow fleet activity to protect our national security, our economy, and global stability – making Britain secure at home and strong abroad."

Vitaliy Shevchenko
Russia editor, BBC Monitoring

Russia's commentary on the Marinera saga has been decidedly low-key, as if designed not to antagonise the US or create the impression that Moscow was determined to defend the Russia-flagged tanker.

Yesterday, the official news agency Tass quoted the foreign ministry as saying that it was "following the abnormal situation with alarm". It also called the tanker "our vessel". Unusually, none of those remarks were circulated by the foreign ministry's accounts on social media or went up on the ministry website.

After the tanker's seizure, the tone remained low-key, but has changed slightly. The Russian transport ministry says the tanker only had "a temporary permission" to fly the Russian flag, and that "no state has the right to use force against vessels properly registered in other countries' jurisdictions".

Russian officials have not commented on reports saying that Moscow had sent a submarine to protect the tanker, but one popular pro-war account, Rybar, claimed that the sub was "24 hours late" to meet the Americans near the tanker.

Vitaly Shevchenko
BBC Monitoring's Russia editor

The Russian transport ministry says "no state has the right to use force against vessels properly registered in other countries' jurisdictions".

It adds US forces boarded the Marinera at about 15:00 Moscow time [1200 GMT], after which communications with the vessel were lost.

On 24 December, the Marinera received a "temporary permission" to sail under the Russian flag, the ministry adds.

Here is the full statement from the Ministry of Transport:

"On December 24, 2025, the vessel Marinera was granted temporary permission to sail under the State Flag of the Russian Federation, issued in accordance with Russian legislation and the norms of international law.

Today, at around 15:00 Moscow time, in the open sea beyond the territorial waters of any state, US naval forces boarded the vessel. Communication with the ship was subsequently lost.

In accordance with the provisions of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the high seas are governed by the principle of freedom of navigation, and no state has the right to use force against vessels duly registered under the jurisdiction of other states."

We can bring you some more details now on the dual operations to seize Venezuela-linked oil tankers, according to US officials.

The US Coast Guard boarded two “ghost fleet” tanker ships in a "meticulously coordinated" operation, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem says.

Noem says one ship was in the North Atlantic Sea while the other was in international waters near the Caribbean. The operations took place within hours of each other, she adds.

The tankers, the Marinera and the Sophia—were "either last docked in Venezuela or en route to it", Noem adds.

The Marinera has been trying to “evade the Coast Guard for weeks”, she says.

Her post includes a short video showing thermal imagery of people appearing to board the Sophia by descending from a helicopter.

Around 10 people are then seen on an upper deck of the vessel.

Image source, Reuters

We have just heard from US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on the seizure of the Venezuela-linked oil tankers.

In a post on X, Hegseth says: "The blockade of sanctioned and illicit Venezuelan oil remains in FULL EFFECT — anywhere in the world".

He later shared a similar message alongside a video of the US seizing a second tanker in the Caribbean sea.

The US has seized a second oil tanker, this time in the Caribbean sea, according to the US Southern Command.

The vessel, a "stateless, sanctioned dark fleet motor tanker", was apprehended in a pre-dawn operation, the military adds.

"The interdicted vessel, M/T Sophia, was operating in international waters and conducting illicit activities in the Caribbean Sea," the US military says in a statement. "The US Coast Guard is escorting M/T Sophia to the US for final disposition."

Damian Grammaticas
Political correspondent

The prime minister’s official spokesperson says Downing Street won’t comment on the US operation involving the Venezuela-linked Marinera oil tanker.

"We don’t comment on the operational activity of other nations, including the third party use of UK bases”, the spokesperson told reporters when asked about the tanker in the regular Wednesday briefing following Prime Minister’s Questions, adding that the was “a long-standing position” of UK governments.

Trump's appetite for unilateral military action undimmedpublished at 14:10 GMT 7 January

14:10 GMT 7 January

James Landale
Diplomatic correspondent

This shows Donald Trump's appetite for unilateral military action remains undimmed.

This was proven beyond doubt with his military aggression against Venezuela, and he seems to want to reinforce that message by going after those tankers that he has sanctioned.

There are lots of questions we simply don't know the answer to, including what is being carried on the ship.

This operation demonstrates the US might like to do things alone, but it also needs allies.

It is only able to carry out operations like this because it has large military airbases outside the US from which it can mount these kind of operations.

Image source, US European Command

We can bring you some more from the US European Command now, which says the seizure of the vessel supports US President Donald Trump's "Proclamation targeting sanctioned vessels that threaten the security and stability of the Western Hemisphere".

"The operation was executed by DHS components with support from @DeptofWar, showcasing a whole-of-government approach to protect the homeland."

Image source, US European Command

The US European Command says the US Department of Justice and Homeland Security have "today announced the seizure of the M/V Bella 1 for violations of US sanctions".

In a post on X, they add: "The vessel was seized in the North Atlantic pursuant to a warrant issued by a US federal court after being tracked by USCGC Munro."

Thomas Copeland, Kayleen Devlin and Joshua Cheetham
BBC Verify

Two images published by Russian state broadcaster RT show a helicopter close to a ship that appears to be Marinera.

Features visible on the vessel in the images, including the position of the window and the white and green colour of the metalwork, are consistent with publicly available and satellite images of Marinera.

We’ve asked two experts if they can identify any key characteristics on the helicopters.

Image source, Reuters

This latest US operation to board the Marinera follows an initial attempt to board the tanker last month in the Caribbean when it was believed to be heading towards Venezuela.

The US Coast Guard had a warrant to seize the ship, which was accused of breaking US sanctions and shipping Iranian oil. It then changed course, changed its name, and re-registered as a Russian vessel.

It had previously been falsely registered under a Guyanese flag. It has historically transported Venezuelan crude oil but is reporting to be empty at the moment.

It has since been pursued by US authorities across the North Atlantic, and Russia has reportedly deployed a submarine to help escort it across the ocean.

The latest location data from the vessel shows it made an abrupt turn to the south and slowed to eight knots starting at 11:26 GMT.

The tanker is now about 200km (124 miles) south of the Icelandic coast.

The US is carrying out an operation to seize the Venezuela-linked oil tanker Marinera, formerly known as Bella-1, a US official confirms to CBS News, the BBC's US partner.

This is a breaking development and we'll bring you more shortly.

Matt Murphy
BBC Verify senior journalist

The owner of the Marinera, the Russian-flagged tanker being pursued by US Coast Guard vessels, was previously sanctioned by the US Treasury Department, external in 2024.

Louis Marine Shipholding Enterprises SA, a Turkey-based company, was accused of having links to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) by the Biden administration.

A public notice issued by US officials said the company had moved goods on behalf of the Quds Force, the IRGC's overseas operations arm. The division supports armed groups allied with Iran around the Middle East, including the Houthis in Yemen and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

According to MarineTraffic, the Marinera (previously named Bella 1) is the only vessel owned by Louis Marine Shipholding, which matches the address of the company on the sanctions list.

Thomas Copeland and Kayleen Devlin
BBC Verify

Marinera has made an abrupt change to its course and slowed its speed within the last hour.

The latest location data from the vessel shows it made an abrupt turn to the south and slowed to eight knots starting at 11:26 GMT.

The tanker is now about 200km (124 miles) south of the Icelandic coast. Previous AIS tracking data for the vessel suggests it travelled north-east past the western coast of the British Isles over the past two days.

Image source, MarineTraffic

Thomas Copeland
BBC Verify Live journalist

We’ve also been looking into footage released by Russian state broadcaster RT showing a ship in the distance which appears to match the profile of a US Coast Guard Legend-class cutter.

The footage was taken on board Marinera. The ship is currently being pursued by US authorities, according to the BBC’s US media partner CBS News.

Features on the vessel, including a crane, the shape of a balcony and the colour of the deck, are consistent with publicly available images of Marinera.