Months-old videos show US military exercises, not seizure of Russia-linked vessel

"The US military crossed the Atlantic, chasing the 'Bella-1', which was carrying Russian oil, over a thousand miles in two weeks before finally boarding and seizing it," reads part of the traditional Chinese X post shared on January 9, 2026.

Attached to the post are two videos, one showing two military helicopters flying alongside a vessel and the other appearing to show soldiers rappelling from a hovering chopper onto the deck of a ship.

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Screenshot of the false X post captured on January 15, 2026, with a red X added by AFP

The videos were also shared in similar Instagram, TikTok and X posts after the United States said it had seized the tanker in the North Atlantic for "violations of sanctions" in an operation condemned by Moscow (archived link).

Washington said the tanker was part of a shadow fleet that carries oil for countries such as Venezuela, Russia and Iran in violation of US sanctions, and seized it despite the ship being escorted by the Russian navy (archived link).

It had thwarted an earlier attempt to board it near oil-rich Venezuela, where a US raid on January 3 toppled the country's authoritarian president, Nicolas Maduro -- a close ally of Moscow.

The vessel, formerly known as the Bella-1, had switched its registration to Russia, changed its name to the Marinera and the tanker's crew reportedly painted a Russian flag on the tanker.

The circulating videos, however, differ from the grainy footage of the tanker's seizure that were published by the US military's Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) and by the US Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem on her official X account (archived here and here).

A reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the first falsely shared video led to the same footage posted on TikTok seven months earlier (archived link). 

The caption of the June 6, 2025 post says the video shows a "casualty evacuation exercise" in the Philippines' Subic Bay, as part of "Exercise Balikatan 25".

A subsequent keyword search found the video was published on DVIDS on April 22, 2025 (archived link).

Its description reads: "U.S. Naval Special Warfare Combatant Craft (Assault) vessels, a Combatant Craft Medium, and U.S. Army MH-60 Black Hawk and MH-47 Chinook helicopters assigned to the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) operate in formation during casualty evacuation hoist training in Subic Bay, Philippines during Exercise Balikatan 25, April 22, 2025."

Exercise Balikatan 25 -- the 2025 edition of annual combined military exercises between the Philippines and the United States -- concluded on May 9, 2025 (archived here and here). According to a press release issued by the US Navy, more than 14,000 Filipino, US, Australian, and Japanese service members participated in the exercise, which comprised training drills across the Philippine archipelago.

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Screenshot comparison of the video used in the false post (L) and on DVIDS

A separate reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the second falsely shared video led to the same footage posted on Instagram on October 6, 2025 (archived link).

Its caption says it shows US Navy SEALs putting on a show for US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump, who were watching aboard the USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier.

The user also tagged Margo Martin, a special assistant to US President Donald Trump, who posted the same video on her official X account on October 6, 2025 (archived link).

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Screenshot comparison of the video used in the false post (L) and the video posted in October 2025

A subsequent keyword search found similar footage was published on the DVIDS website on October 5, 2025 (archived link).

"President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump visit the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) during the Titans of the Sea Presidential Review," reads its description.

The Titans of the Sea Presidential Review was an event which demonstrated the US Navy's maritime capabilities, and celebrated its 250th anniversary (archived link). 

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Screenshot comparison of the falsely shared video (L) and the DVIDS footage, with the relevant portion highlighted by AFP

AFP has debunked other false claims about US military operations.