The U.S. seizure of a Venezuela-linked oil tanker in the North Atlantic has highlighted differing perspectives on international cooperation, with Britain framing it as a joint effort upholding international rules while others view it as a unilateral action. The incident comes alongside a U.S. security pledge to Ukraine and the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, creating a complex diplomatic landscape for the UK.
Europe’s Dilemma
“The UK is trying hard to find positive things to say about all this,” said Bronwen Maddox, director of international affairs think-tank Chatham House, on Thursday. “The tanker gives governments like Keir Starmer’s a way to support the US without supporting everything it’s doing.”
“You can see the dilemma: The UK and Europe don’t want to provoke Trump and the administration, which might put at risk first the defence of Ukraine and second the defence of Europe and third their trade deals,” Maddox said. “But they’re torn, because they also want to stand up for principles.”
Defence Secretary John Healey insisted that the UK and the US remain “the closest possible defence and security allies” while briefing British lawmakers on the ship seizure. He added that NATO “is stronger now, larger now and more united now” than ever before.
U.S. officials stated that the seizure of the merchant vessel Bella 1 – and a second tanker intercepted in the Caribbean – are part of operations to take control of Venezuela’s oil following Maduro’s ouster.
Healey emphasized that intercepting the ship, as it headed toward Russia, supported Ukraine and tackled the “shadow fleet” of tankers used by Russia and Iran to evade international oil sanctions. “Last year, it was estimated that Russia sold up to US$100 billion (NZ$174 billion) from sanctioned oil, money which is directly funding attacks against Ukrainian citizens,” Healey said. “We owe it to Ukrainians to step up on these shadow operations, and we are.”
Starmer Stresses the Positive
Since Trump’s return to office a year ago, European nations, including the UK, have struggled with how to deal with a president who has imposed tariffs, quit international organisations and criticised NATO.
France’s President Emmanuel Macron lamented on Thursday that the United States is “gradually turning away from some of its allies and freeing itself from the international rules”.
Prime Minister Starmer continues to emphasise the positive, making it a key goal to maintain a good relationship with Trump and secure his support for Ukraine. He has refrained from direct criticism despite pressure to condemn Trump’s attacks on London Mayor Sadiq Khan, criticism of British immigration policy and a US$10 billion (NZ$17.4 billion) lawsuit against the BBC. He has also declined to criticise the toppling of Maduro, stating that the UK supports international law without commenting on whether the U.S. action violated it.
British officials highlighted the Trump administration’s commitment at a conference in Paris this week to provide security guarantees for Ukraine after a future ceasefire as a concrete result of its approach. Healey said those guarantees “could not be more important.”
Leslie Vinjamuri, president of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, said Starmer has “done a pretty good job in a very complicated situation where the UK clearly needs to depend on the US.”
“It’s very tactical on the part of the UK,” she said. “Grab the United States where you can to demonstrate that you’re on the same page, that you are useful.”
“That’s pragmatic politics. That’s realism.”
However, differences remain. Trump’s desire to acquire Greenland, a semiautonomous Danish territory, has put Starmer in a difficult position. Starmer has repeatedly stated this week that “only Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark” can decide the future of the Arctic island.
Starmer spoke to Trump late Wednesday and “set out his position on Greenland,” according to the prime minister’s office. The office did not disclose Trump’s response.
Maddox said that Trump’s proposal “to seize the sovereign territory of a European country, a NATO member” is so egregious that Starmer’s “dance of keeping under the radar begins to look not just ridiculous but self-defeating.”
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