UANI Applauds Prosecution of the Master of the Ghost Armada Tanker BELLA 1

(New York, NY)—United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) applauds the prosecution of the master of the ghost fleet supertanker BELLA 1 (IMO 9230880), now named ERA, on June 12 whose actions underscore the risks posed by Iranian ghost fleet operations and the need for sustained maritime enforcement.

According to the Department of Justice, the former ship master Avtandil Kalandadze pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for refusing to obey U.S. Coast Guard orders during a weeks-long pursuit, after BELLA 1 attempted to load Venezuelan oil despite a U.S. blockade on all sanctioned tankers going in and out of Venezuelan ports. During this period, Kalandadze took steps to evade detection and obstruct lawful enforcement action, by using evasive tactics including inactivated AIS and attempting to flee interdiction across the Atlantic Ocean.

The criminal complaint and arrest warrant filed in U.S. District Court also referenced UANI in connection with BELLA 1’s false Guyanese flag. The criminal complaint states that Guyana told authorities the vessel was not legitimately flagged, and notes that an unauthorized entity had been fraudulently registering Iran-linked vessels under Guyana’s flag as an obfuscation tactic; the filing cites a report that says Guyana’s maritime authority told UANI that more than a dozen tankers linked with Iran had been fraudulently registered under its flag.

U.S. Criminal Complaint Against Avtandil Kalandadze (Source: U.S. District Court)
 

UANI had previously listed BELLA 1 on its Ghost Armada in April 2021 for its role in transporting sanctioned Iranian oil. The U.S. Treasury Department subsequently sanctioned it in 2024. In total, BELLA 1 has transported over 11 million barrels of Iranian oil and over 3 million barrels of Venezuelan oil for the benefit of U.S. adversaries.

In January 2026, UANI applauded the Trump administration for its seizure of multiple ghost fleet vessels, including BELLA 1, as part of Operation Southern Spear, where the U.S. enacted a blockade on sanctioned oil tankers traveling in and out of Venezuela.

UANI urges sustained sanctions enforcement against vessels, masters, owners, and facilitators of the ghost fleet that support Iran’s oil trade.