Owners of seized Russian oil tanker claim U.S. improperly sold ship for scrap metal

Key Points:

• U.S. authorities sold the seized Russian oil tanker Bella 1 to a maritime scrap dealer for $9.1 million, significantly below its estimated scrap value of $21 million, according to the vessel’s Russian owner, Burevestmarin LLC.
• The tanker was seized in January after a weekslong chase in the North Atlantic, with U.S. officials alleging it was carrying illegal Iranian oil and trying to evade a blockade of Venezuela; Burevestmarin disputes the claim.
• Burevestmarin’s lawyers argue the sale was “economically irrational” and conducted without notifying interested parties, suggesting the government acted to prevent the owner from reclaiming the vessel.
• The company contends that Bella 1 has greater value as an operational commercial ship, not just as scrap, and criticized the government for making “self-interested and unreasonable decisions” behind closed doors.
• The Justice Department has been ordered to respond to these allegations by Friday morning; representatives for the department and the scrap dealer were not immediately available for comment.