U.S. court orders jail, deportation for captain of Russian “shadow fleet” tanker Marinera

In a U.S. federal court, the captain of the shadow fleet tanker Marinera, formerly known as Bella 1, received a 10-month prison sentence followed by deportation. The Georgian national, Avtandil Kalandadze, pleaded guilty to one count of refusing to "heave to" when ordered to do so by the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Munro. The tanker was transporting about 1.8 million barrels of Iranian-origin oil to Asia when it was pursued for over two weeks.

The vessel changed its name to Marinera and was re-registered under the Russian flag during its escape. U.S. authorities classify the vessel as part of the "shadow fleet," referred to as tankers that evade sanctions or restrictions on oil shipments. The current owner of the Marinera is Russian company Burevestmarin, founded by Ilya Bugai, who also heads Rusneftekhimtorg, a company involved in trading petroleum products.