(INDIAN OCEAN) – The United States military has successfully intercepted the oil tanker Aquila II within the Indian Ocean following a documented violation of international sanctions. According to a formal statement released by the Pentagon, the boarding operation was conducted without incident. The vessel was found to be operating in direct defiance of a maritime quarantine established by Donald Trump for ships currently under sanction.
The Department of Defence confirmed that military assets monitored the movement of the tanker from the Caribbean into the Indian Ocean before initiating the interception. In an official communication, the Pentagon asserted that no other nation possesses the capacity to project such authority across global land, air, or sea territories. The statement further warned that the armed forces would locate and hold accountable any parties attempting to evade justice, noting that such actors would exhaust their fuel supplies before outrunning American pursuit.
The Pentagon reiterated its commitment to preventing illegal entities and their intermediaries from challenging the maritime authority of the United States. The Aquila II is currently listed on the War and Sanctions portal maintained by the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine. This database identifies the vessel as a primary participant in the transport of crude oil from both Venezuela and the Russian Federation, where the Russian dictator continues to bypass international trade restrictions.
The vessel is classified as a crude oil tanker with a total deadweight of 159,073 tons. It is identified as part of the shadow fleet linked to Sunne Co Limited, a firm that was added to the United States sanctions list on 10 January 2025. On that same date, specific restrictions were also applied to the ship itself. These measures were subsequently adopted by the United Kingdom, the European Union, Canada, Switzerland, and Ukraine.
Records indicate that as of July 2025, the official flag of the ship was unregistered, though it was observed flying the flag of Panama. This latest maritime action follows a similar operation on 7 January when the US military intercepted the Marinera, a vessel previously known as Bella 1 which currently sails under the Russian flag.
