Russia has deployed a submarine and other warships to protect an empty oil tanker that is attempting to evade the US Coast Guard in the Atlantic Ocean.

Russia formally asked the United States to halt pursuit of Venezuelan oil tanker Marinera after the vessel escaped U.S. Coast Guard interception in the Caribbean.

Russia's only known submarine in the Mediterranean Sea, the Kilo-class Novorossiysk, was spotted leaving the region last week.

The tanker managed to evade Donald Trump’s Venezuela blockade and is believed to be sailing between Scotland and Iceland in a bid to flee to Moscow

Russia has escalated a naval confrontation with the United States by deploying a submarine and other warships to escort the oil tanker 'Marinera' across the Atlantic

By seizing the Russian-flagged Marinera ship, Trump has stared down the country's threats and underlined the limits of Putin's power.

The tanker, now sailing under the name Marinera, is being shadowed by the United States Coast Guard weeks after it left waters near Venezuela. Though the vessel is empty and visibly deteriorating

Russia has deployed a submarine and other naval vessels to escort an empty, ageing oil tanker that has been trying to evade the U.S. blockade near Venezuela, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday,