Us Forces Intercept Sanctioned Oil Tanker Tied To Venezuela In Indian Ocean

US subject forces person boarded a sanctioned tanker in nan Indian Ocean, having tracked nan alloy from nan Caribbean Sea successful an operation targeting illicit lipid linked to Venezuela, nan Pentagon announced connected Sunday.

Venezuela has been taxable to US lipid sanctions for respective years, starring to its reliance connected a 'shadow fleet' of falsely flagged tankers to smuggle crude into world proviso chains. Donald Trump ordered a quarantine of sanctioned tankers successful December to exert unit connected then-President Nicolás Maduro, who was later apprehended successful January during an American subject operation.

The Defense Department confirmed via a station connected X that US forces boarded nan Veronica III overnight, executing "a right-of-visit, maritime interdiction and boarding."

The Pentagon stated: "The alloy tried to defy President Trump’s quarantine – hoping to gaffe away. We tracked it from nan Caribbean to nan Indian Ocean, closed nan distance, and unopen it down."

The Veronica III, a Panamanian-flagged vessel, is listed nether US sanctions related to Iran, according to nan Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control website. Video released by nan Pentagon depicted US troops boarding nan tanker.

The Trump management has been seizing tankers arsenic portion of its wider efforts to return power of Venezuela's oil. However, nan Pentagon's station did not specify whether nan Veronica III had been formally seized and placed nether US control.

This incident follows different boarding past week, erstwhile nan US subject intercepted nan Aquila II, a different tanker, besides successful nan Indian Ocean. That alloy is presently being held while its eventual destiny is wished by nan United States, a defence charismatic stated past week connected information of anonymity.

The Aquila II was 1 of astatine slightest 16 tankers that departed nan Venezuelan seashore past period aft US forces captured President Nicolás Maduro, according to Samir Madani, co-founder of TankerTrackers.com. He said his statement utilized outer imagery and surface-level photos to archive nan ship's movements.

The Aquila II is simply a Panamanian-flagged tanker nether US sanctions related to nan shipment of illicit Russian oil. Owned by a institution pinch a listed reside successful Hong Kong, vessel search information shows it has spent overmuch of nan past twelvemonth pinch its power transponder turned off, a believe known arsenic “running dark” commonly employed by smugglers to hide their location.