United States forces boarded and seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker in the Atlantic Ocean Wednesday following a weeks-long chase on the high seas which has escalated tensions with Moscow and piled further pressure on its ally Venezuela.

The following is the Dec. 17, 2025, Government Accountability Office report, Navy Ship Maintenance: Fire Prevention Improvements Hinge on Stronger Contractor Oversight.  From the Report What GAO Found The Navy has suffered significant losses from 13 fires on ships undergoing maintenance since 2008.

Staffing shortages and ineffective ways of ensuring contractors comply with safety standards threaten to derail fire prevention efforts, GAO found.

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The Navy has experienced chronic delays and labor overruns in maintenance on its large conventional ships (that is, ships that are not nuclear-powered). Those delays can affect deployment schedules and limit the operational readiness of the Navy’s fleet.

The U.S. seized the "Marinera," which was sailing to Russia from Venezuela after it had broken through an American blockade.