The listing could make it more challenging for U.S. forces to board the ship, which an arm of the Kremlin’s maritime authority says is now flying the Russian flag.

The listing could make it more challenging for U.S. forces to board the ship, which an arm of the Kremlin’s maritime authority says is now flying the Russian flag.

The listing could make it more challenging for U.S. forces to board the ship, which an arm of the Kremlin’s maritime authority says is now flying the Russian flag.

Crew members aboard the aging, rusted oil tanker that the US has been pursuing at sea for nearly two weeks appear to have painted a crude image of a Russian flag on the ship’s hull, which American officials believe is an attempt at claiming Russian protection, a US official familiar with the matter said.

The crew of an oil tanker under U.S. pursuit near Venezuela has painted a Russian flag on the side of the ship in an attempt to claim Russian protection, further complicating things for the U.S. Coast Guard, which has been trailing the tanker for nearly two weeks.