Russia sends submarine to escort sanctioned oil tanker off coast of Ireland

Footage shared on social media showed US troops practicing rappelling from a plane along the coast, leading to speculation they were planning to make a second attempt to board the ship.

British officials reportedly fear that seizing the tanker could lead to Russian retaliation, but they are also wary of alienating the United States by refusing support.

The United States last month detained two oil tankers, Skipper and Centuries, around Venezuela and declared them part of a “shadow fleet” carrying illicit oil evading sanctions regimes.

President Donald Trump said the naval blockade of Venezuela will continue, along with a US “armada” gathering in the Caribbean, despite the capture of former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in an early morning raid on Saturday.

The operation, in which the Venezuelan leader was taken by helicopter from his compound in Caracas, also became a flashpoint in relations with Moscow.

On Monday, Moscow’s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia criticized Trump’s “act of armed aggression” and accused the United States of acting illegally.

Telegraph, London