What we can see in US video of tanker seizurepublished at 10:36 GMT
10:36 GMT
Paul Brown
BBC Verify senior journalist
Media caption,
Trump administration shares video showing seizure of tanker off the coast of Venezuela
BBC Verify has been analysing footage released by the US government showing the seizure of an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela yesterday.
The footage shows troops boarding a vessel that resembles the Skipper (IMO international identification number 9304667) which is widely reported to be the tanker that was seized.
The video contains multiple aerial shots filmed from different angles. Two helicopters are filmed approaching the vessel before armed personnel rappel onto the deck and head towards the bridge. At least one of the helicopters is identifiable as a MH-60S Knighthawk – a type known to be flown from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R Ford which has been in the Caribbean since mid-November.
Parts of the footage are blurred, presumably to conceal on-screen graphics such as GPS coordinates, but at times a compass heading is visible. Shadows in the footage suggests it was filmed in the morning.
US Attorney General Pamela Bondi says the operation was conducted jointly by the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations and the US Coast Guard, with support from the Department of War.
The BBC’s US news partner CBS has reported the operation was conducted at 06:00 yesterday and involved 10 Coast Guard members, 10 Marines and special forces.