U.S. military boards sanctioned tanker tracked from Caribbean

U.S. Military Forces Intercept Sanctioned Venezuelan Oil Vessel in Indian Ocean

Following Venezuela’s decades-long reliance on shadow fleets for illicit oil smuggling and U.S. sanctions targeting its oil, the Pentagon reported Sunday that forces boarded another sanctioned tanker recently intercepted in the Indian Ocean.

Venezuela had faced years of U.S. sanctions on its oil, which included a December 2023 order by President Trump to quarantine sanctioned tankers following the capture of then-President Nicolás Maduro in January. This was part of broader U.S. efforts to seize Venezuela’s oil and disrupt global supply chains.

Several shadow tankers fled after the raid, including the one boarded in the Indian Ocean. The Defense Department shared a post on X noting that the U.S. forces carried out a “right-of-visit,” maritime interdiction, and boarding operation against the vessel known as the Veronica III.

In response to Trump’s quarantine, the ship attempted evasion by moving from the Caribbean Sea to the Indian Ocean. However, U.S. forces tracked its movements and closed in for an interception. “The vessel tried to defy President Trump’s quarantine,” stated the Pentagon. “We tracked it from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean, closing the distance and shutting it down.”

A video posted on X showed U.S. troops boarding the tanker. The Defense Department described the operation: “We defend the Homeland forward. Distance does not protect you.”

The Panama-flagged Veronica III, under sanctions related to Iran’s oil by OFAC (Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control), had previously left Venezuela on January 3 with over two million barrels of crude and fuel oil. TankerTrackers.com reported that the vessel was involved in at least 16 other shipments from Venezuelan waters, all violating sanctions.

Samir Madani, co-founder of TankerTrackers, disclosed to The Associated Press in January that his organization had used satellite imagery and surface-level photography to document at least sixteen tankers leaving Venezuela’s coast in defiance of the quarantine.

Since December 2023, the U.S. military has boarded several ships in similar operations against sanctioned vessels. The Pentagon did not specify if the Veronica III was formally seized or placed under U.S. control but confirmed through an email to The Associated Press that no additional details were available beyond its earlier post.

The United States has been a focal point of efforts to seize Venezuelan oil, including this most recent interception in the Indian Ocean and last week’s seizure of another tanker—the Aquila II—in the same region. Pentagon officials noted ongoing decisions about the fate of these vessels.

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