(INDIAN OCEAN) – United States forces have boarded a sanctioned oil tanker in the Indian Ocean after tracking it from the Caribbean Sea as part of wider efforts to disrupt illegal shipments linked to Venezuela, the Associated Press reported.
The United States Department of Defense said the tanker, Veronica III, was intercepted overnight in the Indo Pacific region of responsibility. The boarding was carried out without incident.
In a statement published on social media, the Pentagon said US forces had conducted a maritime interdiction operation after monitoring the vessel’s movements across multiple oceans.
According to the Associated Press, the tanker has been involved in transporting oil from Russia, Iran and Venezuela since 2023, despite international sanctions on those countries. Russia is led by the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, who remains subject to wide ranging Western restrictions.
Venezuela has faced US oil sanctions for several years and has relied on a network of so called shadow fleet tankers using false flags and complex ownership structures to move crude into global markets.
In December, then US President Donald Trump ordered a quarantine of sanctioned vessels in an effort to increase pressure on the government of Nicolas Maduro. Maduro was later arrested in January during a US led military operation.
Following that operation, several tankers left Venezuelan ports, including the Veronica III, which was later intercepted in the Indian Ocean.
The Pentagon said the vessel had attempted to evade enforcement measures by leaving the Caribbean and crossing into the Indian Ocean. It said US forces tracked the tanker, closed the distance and stopped it.
Video footage released by the military showed personnel boarding the ship at sea.
According to records from the Office of Foreign Assets Control, the Veronica III is a Panamanian flagged vessel that has been under US sanctions related to Iran.
The Panamanian Maritime Authority said the tanker’s registration was cancelled in December 2024 and that it is no longer listed under Panama’s flag.
Data published by TankerTrackers.com showed that the vessel left Venezuela on 3 January carrying nearly two million barrels of crude and fuel oil.
The organisation said it had used satellite imagery and surface photographs to document at least 16 tankers departing Venezuelan waters in violation of US restrictions.
The Trump administration has seized and detained vessels as part of broader efforts to gain influence over Venezuelan oil exports and disrupt sanctioned trade networks.
The Pentagon did not confirm whether the Veronica III had been formally seized and transferred to US control. In an email to the Associated Press, it said it had no additional information beyond its initial statement.
Last week, US forces also boarded another tanker, Aquila II, in the Indian Ocean. A defence official said the vessel was being held while US authorities decided on further action.
We defend the Homeland forward. Distance does not protect you.
Overnight, U.S. forces conducted a right-of-visit, maritime interdiction and boarding of the Veronica III without incident in the INDOPACOM area of responsibility.
The vessel tried to defy President Trump’s… pic.twitter.com/Tran3cLR9g
— Department of War 🇺🇸 (@DeptofWar) February 15, 2026
