China condemns seizure of a Russian-flagged oil tanker in the Atlantic

Published at: 08/01/2026 09:03 AM

The spokeswoman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Mao Ning, condemned the seizure of an oil tanker flying the Russian flag in the Atlantic Ocean by the United States (USA), and opposes the illegal unilateral sanctions of the North American country, which have no basis in international law.

In that regard, he stressed that Washington's seizure of ships from other countries in international waters constitutes a “serious violation of international law”.

At the same time, he ratified that Beijing has systematically opposed illegal unilateral sanctions, imposed by the United States and other countries, which have no basis in international law and are not authorized by the Security Council of the United Nations (UN), and is contrary to any action that violates the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and threatens the sovereignty and security of other nations.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Navy stopped the Russian-flagged oil tanker Marinera in international waters of the North Atlantic. The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, stated that the seizure of the vessel occurred “due to violations of US sanctions”, adding that it was “a vessel of the Venezuelan ghost fleet carrying sanctioned oil.”

In view of this, the Russian Ministry of Transport reiterated that the ship obtained a temporary permit to sail under the Russian flag in accordance with Russian legislation and the rules of international law. In addition, the ministry cited the rules of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, according to which the regime of freedom of navigation governs international waters and “no State has the right to use force against ships duly registered in the jurisdictions of other States”.

VTV/Mazo News Team