The captain of the oil tanker detained by the United States, the Georgian national, has been charged, - this information is reported by the New York Times.

According to the publication, the Georgian captain of the oil tanker Marinera (also known as Bella 1), Avtandil Kalandadze, was officially charged in the US on February 12.

Avtandil Kalandadze faces charges for two federal crimes. Specifically, the first charge relates to raising the flag of Guyana on the vessel when the ship was not registered in Guyana, while the second charge is connected to non-compliance with an order from the US Coast Guard.

For information: The oil tanker Marinera (also known as Bella 1), linked to Venezuela and sailing under the Russian flag, departed from Iran in August 2025 and was heading toward Venezuela. The US attempted to detain the oil tanker on December 21 in the Caribbean Sea during Venezuela's blockade. American military forces detained the tanker near Iceland on January 7. After the detention, the oil tanker and crew members, including the Georgian captain Avtandil Kalandadze, were transferred to Scottish territory. The wife of the Georgian captain attempted to challenge his detention in a British court. In total, there were 6 Georgian citizens on the tanker, as well as citizens of Ukraine, Russia, and India.

At the end of last month, it became known that the US had taken Avtandil Kalandadze from Scotland. The lawyer for the Georgian captain's wife stated that Kalandadze had been “factually abducted by the US government.”