- US forces seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker in the North Atlantic, which was previously sanctioned and linked to Venezuela.
- A second sanctioned oil tanker linked to Venezuela was also seized by the US Coast Guard in the Caribbean Sea.
- The US action, which occurred without Russian military presence nearby, has drawn criticism from Russia's transport ministry.

A: Hey Hana-chan! Did you hear about something crazy happening?

B: Oh, hi Ken! No, what’s up?

A: The US military caught a ship! A really interesting situation.

B: Really? Like a pirate ship?

A: Sort of! It was an oil tanker. They said it was connected to Venezuela.

B: Venezuela? Wow. Where did this happen?

A: In the North Atlantic, at first. And then another one in the Caribbean Sea!

B: Seriously? Two ships? The article says the first one was flying a Russian flag, trying to hide!

A: Yeah! It even changed its name to avoid getting caught. Apparently, Russia sent a submarine to protect it, too!

B: A submarine?! That's intense! But the US officials said the submarine wasn't actually *near* when they took the ship. Good thing, right? No conflict.

A: Exactly! They dodged a big problem. Russia isn’t happy about it, of course. They said it’s not okay to seize ships like that.

B: Makes sense. The US says they’re stopping oil from Venezuela from being sold illegally.

A: Right! They’re keeping a really close watch, everywhere. Seems like they're taking it very seriously.



B: Crazy news! I’m glad everything didn’t escalate.