By Focus | 2026-02-11

The US military has seized a sanctioned oil tanker reportedly bound for China in the Indian Ocean after tracking the vessel more than 10,000 nautical miles from the Caribbean.

The operation marks the latest vessel seizure targeting illicit oil flows to the People's Republic of China (PRC) and underscores Washington's ability to locate and intercept ships operating far beyond US waters.

The US Navy seized the tanker, Aquila II, the night of February 8-9, in the US Indo-Pacific Command area of responsibility following a weeks-long pursuit that began near Venezuela in early January.

To track the ship, US forces maintained contact across multiple ocean basins using satellite imagery and surface-level observations.

US officials described the operation as part of an expanding sanction enforcement campaign aimed at cutting off Russian- and Venezuelan-linked oil shipments, including crude bound for China, and dismantling what Washington calls a "shadow fleet" used to move sanctioned oil through global markets.

"The only guidance I gave to my military commanders is none of those are getting away," US War Secretary Pete Hegseth vowed, pledging to capture every remaining vessel.

The pursuit began after several tankers departed Venezuelan waters following US special forces' capture of then-dictator Nicolás Maduro on January 3.

Tanker was 'running dark'

Maritime intelligence firms documented the Aquila II operating under multiple aliases and spending extended periods with its radio transponder disabled -- a practice known as "running dark" used by smugglers to evade commercial tracking systems.

According to schedules from Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA, the Aquila II was among a flotilla that left Venezuelan waters in early January carrying Venezuelan heavy crude destined for China, placing the vessel at the center of US efforts to disrupt sanctioned oil flows to the PRC.

The 2004-built tanker belongs to Hong Kong-based Linnet Marguerite and, according to US officials, formed part of a network connecting sanctioned oil producers to Asian markets through opaque ownership structures and falsified shipping records.

The Pentagon confirmed the operation took place under established maritime authorities tied to sanction enforcement, saying the military "conducted a right-of-visit, maritime interdiction" on the ship.

The Aquila II was operating in defiance of the US government's quarantine on sanctioned vessels linked to illicit oil shipments, the Pentagon said.

In a statement accompanying video footage of the operation, the Pentagon framed the seizure as a demonstration of US reach and deterrence.

"No other nation on planet Earth has the capability to enforce its will through any domain... [U.S.] Armed Forces will find you and deliver justice. You will run out of fuel long before you will outrun us," the statement said.

Released videos and photographs showed uniformed US personnel boarding a Navy helicopter that lifted off from the mobile sea base USS Miguel Keith.

Additional footage taken from inside the helicopter showed the Aquila II under way, with the US Navy destroyers USS Pinckney and USS John Finn sailing alongside the tanker during the seizure.

Other images showed personnel preparing to board as the vessel moved steadily through open water in the Indian Ocean.

A US Navy official declined to specify which forces carried out the seizure but confirmed that the destroyers USS Pinckney and USS John Finn, along with the USS Miguel Keith, were operating in the Indian Ocean at the time.

Safe boarding, no injuries

The boarding and inspection occurred safely and professionally, with no reported injuries, said officials.

In a departure from several earlier interdictions in the Caribbean, US authorities are holding the seized vessel until they determine its ultimate disposition, according to a defense official speaking to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

The tanker bears a Panamanian flag. The Office of Foreign Assets Control of the US Treasury Department designated it in January 2025 as blocked property linked to Russia's energy sector.

US authorities say vessels tied to this network frequently change names, flags and ownership structures to dodge enforcement while carrying sanctioned Russian, Venezuelan and Iranian oil.

The seizure of the Aquila II is the latest in a series of US maritime actions against sanctioned tankers of illicit oil.

US forces have seized or intercepted at least seven vessels in recent weeks as Washington intensifies enforcement against sanctioned oil flows, including shipments bound for China, and seeks to cut off revenue streams tied to sanctioned energy shipments.