![A view from a US military helicopter shows the oil tanker under way in the Indian Ocean, with a US Navy destroyer sailing nearby during a maritime interdiction operation, in video footage released by the US military in February. [US Department of War]](/gc9/images/2026/02/18/54664-1-370_237.webp)
By Focus |
The US military has seized a sanctioned oil tanker 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 and underscores Washington's ability to locate and intercept ships operating far beyond US waters.
The tanker, Aquila II, was intercepted overnight in the US Indo-Pacific Command area of responsibility following a weeks-long pursuit that began near Venezuela in early January.
US officials described the operation as part of an expanding sanction enforcement campaign aimed at Venezuelan-linked oil shipments and dismantling what Washington calls a "dark fleet" used to move sanctioned oil through global markets.
![US military forces stand on the deck of the Aquila II oil tanker as a US Navy helicopter hovers overhead during a boarding operation in the Indian Ocean, in video footage released by the US military in February. [US Department of War]](/gc9/images/2026/02/18/54665-2-370_237.webp)
The pursuit began after several tankers departed Venezuelan waters following US raid that led to the capture of then-president 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.
Despite these concealment efforts, US forces maintained contact across multiple ocean basins using satellite imagery and surface-level observations.
Based on 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 placing the vessel at the center of US efforts to disrupt sanctioned oil flows from Venezuela.
According to US officials, the 2004-built tanker is part of a network connecting sanctioned oil producers to Asian markets through opaque ownership structures and falsified shipping records.
The Pentagon confirmed the seizure was carried out under established maritime authorities tied to sanctions enforcement.
In a post on X, it noted the military "conducted a right-of-visit, maritime interdiction" on the ship, describing the action as a lawful step in enforcing US sanctions.
The Pentagon added that the Aquila II had been operating in defiance of the President Donald Trump’s quarantine on sanctioned vessels linked to illicit oil shipments.
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."
Released videos and photographs showed uniformed US forces 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 underway, with a US Navy destroyer 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 US naval presence in the Indian Ocean at the time.
Safe boarding, no injuries
Officials said the boarding was conducted safely and professionally, with no reported injuries.
Unlike several earlier interdictions in the Caribbean, US authorities said the Aquila II is under US control but has not yet been formally transferred. Instead, the vessel is being held while US authorities determine its ultimate disposition, according to a defense official speaking to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
The tanker is flagged in Panama and was designated by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the US Treasury Department 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 evade 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 targeting sanctioned tankers of illicit oil.
US forces have seized or intercepted at least eight vessels in recent weeks as the Trump administration intensifies enforcement against sanctioned oil flows and seeks to cut off revenue streams tied to sanctioned energy shipments.