Owner of captured Russian tanker in Atlantic is businessman from Crimea
The oil tanker Marinera (formerly Bella 1), seized by the U.S. European Command of the Armed Forces, belongs to the Russian company "Burevestmarin". Its director and sole owner is Ilya Bugay, an entrepreneur from annexed Crimea.
This is evidenced by data from the Global Integrated Shipping Information System of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and EGRUL, which was reviewed by "Novaya Gazeta Europa".
The company was registered in Ryazan just half a year ago. However, it apparently was indeed active in maritime transport: several job vacancies related to shipping, published in 2025, can be found on job search websites.
Since 2018, Bugay has also held the position of General Director of "Rusneftekhimgandl" company, which specializes in trading oil products. In 2020, the company generated revenue of 4 billion Russian rubles (about 50 million dollars), but later revenues sharply declined, and in 2024 (the latest available data), the company reported losses.
According to information from his social networks, Bugay graduated from the Crimean Federal University in 2008 and now lives in Moscow.
Marinera's Seizure
On January 7, the U.S. European Command of the Armed Forces announced the seizure of an oil tanker in the North Atlantic Ocean, near the coast of Iceland. The pursuit of the vessel began in December 2025, when the tanker attempted to approach the coast of Venezuela. At that time, the vessel sailed under the flag of Guyana (listed as "false" in the IMO database) and was named Bella 1.
A few days later, already during the pursuit, the vessel changed its flag to Russian and its name to Marinera. According to Reuters, at the time of the seizure, the tanker was escorted by a Russian military submarine.
Russia also attempted to protect Marinera through diplomatic channels, but without success.
The White House stated that Marinera is part of Venezuela's "shadow fleet" and is engaged in transporting oil in circumvention of American sanctions. The vessel was arrested based on a warrant issued by a U.S. court. Marinera's crew, according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, will be brought to the U.S. for trial "if necessary."
Comments