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ISLAMABAD: American military forces have intercepted and boarded the <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; float: none; display: inline !important;" id="isPasted">Panamanian-flagged<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: source-sans-pro, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;" id="isPasted">&nbsp;oil tanker Veronica III in the Indian Ocean, according to a statement posted on X by the Department of War on Sunday. The department said US forces tracked the vessel across international waters before carrying out what officials described as a lawful maritime boarding operation within the Indo-Pacific Command&rsquo;s area of responsibility. Video released alongside the statement shows armed personnel approaching the tanker at sea and climbing aboard. <div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2022997870061011067&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=917738aeac499d224108cc4f065a7ee29452fcc3&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 696px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div> Officials described the action as a &ldquo;right-of-visit, maritime interdiction and boarding&rdquo; conducted without incident.&nbsp;According to the statement, the pursuit began in the Caribbean and continued across thousands of miles before the ship was stopped in the Indian Ocean. &ldquo;The vessel tried to defy President Trump&rsquo;s quarantine &mdash; hoping to slip away,&rdquo; the department said. &ldquo;We tracked it from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean, closed the distance, and shut it down.&rdquo; The Pentagon intercepted the Aquila II in similar fashion about a week ago. In December, Trump ordered a &quot;blockade&quot; of sanctioned oil vessels heading to and from Venezuela. At least nine ships have been seized thus far. But those ships seized in recent months make up only a tiny fraction of the total number of sanctioned &quot;shadow fleet&quot; vessels operating worldwide to evade sanctions, which a senior US Coast Guard officer said number up to 800. The Veronica III left Venezuela on January 3 -- the same day that US special forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in a raid -- carrying around 1.9 million barrels of oil, <a data-fr-linked="true" href="//TankersTrackers.com" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">TankersTrackers.com</a> said. The ship is listed under US sanctions relating to Iran, according to the website of the US Treasury&#39;s Office of Foreign Asset Control. Officials did not immediately confirm whether the tanker was seized or redirected following the boarding. Still, they described the move as part of a broader campaign to disrupt illicit oil trade networks. &quot;By land, air, or sea, we will find you and deliver justice,&quot; officials warned, signaling continued operations against what they termed &quot;illicit actors and their proxies&quot; in the maritime domain.

Americas

US forces boarded the Panama-flagged tanker Veronica III in the Indian Ocean after tracking it from the Caribbean, accusing it of violating sanctions on Venezuelan and Iranian oil, the Department of War said in a statement on X.

Articles tagged with "oil"

US forces board tanker in Indian Ocean after Venezuela blockade evasion

US forces board tanker in Indian Ocean after Venezuela blockade evasion