US forces board sanctioned oil tanker after vessel tried to evade Trump quarantine, Department of War says

The Department of War (DOW) said Sunday that U.S. forces interdicted a vas successful the Indo-Pacific aft it attempted to evade a quarantine bid issued by the Trump administration.

In a connection connected X, the DOW said the Veronica III was boarded without incidental portion it was operating successful the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command country of responsibility.

"The vas tried to defy President Trump’s quarantine — hoping to gaffe away. We tracked it from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean, closed the distance, and unopen it down. No different federation has the reach, endurance, oregon volition to bash this," the authorities relationship wrote.

"International waters are not sanctuary. By land, air, oregon sea, we volition find you and present justice," it added. "The Department of War volition contradict illicit actors and their proxies state of question successful the maritime domain."

US MILITARY SEIZES ANOTHER FUGITIVE OIL TANKER LINKED TO VENEZUELA

U.S. forces behaviour a right-of-visit, maritime interdiction and boarding of the Veronica III without incidental successful the INDOPACOM country of work aft the vas allegedly tried to defy President Trump’s quarantine, Feb. 15, 2026. (X/@DeptofWar)

The Veronica III is the latest successful a bid of high-profile maritime seizures by the U.S. subject aimed astatine enforcing sanctions and curbing the export of Venezuelan oil.

President Donald Trump announced a blockade of each sanctioned lipid tankers going successful and retired of Venezuela successful mid-December, arsenic Washington accrued its naval beingness successful the Caribbean to enactment unit connected now-former Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro.

According to OpenSanctions, the Veronica III is listed connected the U.S. Treasury Department’s Specially Designated Nationals sanctions list.

U.S. forces behaviour a right-of-visit, maritime interdiction, and boarding of the Veronica III successful the INDOPACOM country of work aft the vas allegedly tried to defy President Trump’s quarantine, Feb. 15, 2026. (X/@DeptofWar)

US COAST GUARD PURSUES THIRD ‘DARK FLEET’ OIL TANKER AS TRUMP TARGETS VENEZUELAN SANCTIONS EVASION NETWORK

The tanker, a ample crude lipid bearer built successful 2006 and flagged successful Panama, has been linked to the transport of hundreds of thousands of metric tons of sanctioned Iranian lipid and is affiliated with a Chinese ship-management institution that has besides been sanctioned.

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OpenSanctions notes that the vessel has antecedently sailed nether antithetic names and flags arsenic portion of efforts to evade sanctions and disguise its activities astatine sea.

The Veronica III was among the vessels sanctioned by Treasury successful December 2024 arsenic portion of a broader enactment targeting 35 different entities and tankers progressive successful transporting illicit Iranian lipid to overseas markets.