The US military said it intercepted and boarded the Aquila II in the Indian Ocean after tracking it from the Caribbean, accusing the vessel of defying Washington’s blockade on sanctioned Venezuela‑linked tankers
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Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth speaks to senior military leaders at Marine Corps Base Quantico, in Quantico, Va. AP File
US military forces boarded a crude oil tanker in the Indian Ocean after tracking it from the Caribbean, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Monday, accusing the vessel of violating Washington’s blockade on sanctioned ships linked to Venezuela
“Overnight, US military forces conducted a right-of-visit, maritime interdiction and boarding on the Aquila II without incident in the INDOPACOM area of responsibility,” Hegseth wrote in a post on X.
“The Aquila II was operating in defiance of President Trump’s established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean. It ran, and we followed. The Department of War tracked and hunted this vessel from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean,” he added.
He said no other nation on planet Earth has the capability to enforce its will through any domain.
“By land, air, or sea, our Armed Forces will find you and deliver justice. You will run out of fuel long before you will outrun us. The Department of War will deny illicit actors and their proxies the ability to defy American power in the global maritime domain,” he said.
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In a separate statement, Pentagon on Monday said US forces boarded and seized an oil tanker in the Indian Ocean that violated President Trump’s blockade of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean and fled the region.
“US forces seized” the ship, AFP quoted the Pentagon as saying, after announcing on X that the Aquila II was boarded “without incident” following a chase that led from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean.
After capturing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a military raid last month in Caracas, the US has escalated its blockade on vessels that are under sanctions and going to and from the South American country, a member of the OPEC oil producers group.
The Suezmax tanker Aquila II left Venezuelan waters in early January as part of a flotilla of vessels carrying heavy crude for China, according to schedules from state oil company PDVSA.
The ship was loaded with roughly 700,000 barrels of Venezuelan heavy crude bound for Chinese refineries.
Most of the tankers in that flotilla have since either returned to Venezuela or been intercepted and seized by US forces as part of enforcement actions against vessels linked to sanctioned Venezuelan oil exports.
It remained unclear where the Aquila II was officially registered, according to shipping databases.
With inputs from agencies
US forces seize sanctioned, Russia-flagged oil tanker that eluded Venezuela blockade
Ryan King, Caitlin Doornbos
WASHINGTON — The Russian government asked the US Wednesday to ensure “proper and humane treatment” of the crew of a sanctioned oil tanker after it was boarded and seized by American forces in the North Atlantic.
Military and Coast Guard personnel boarded the ship — formerly known as the Bella 1 and now called the Marinera — in the North Atlantic between Iceland and the British Isles Wednesday morning, US officials confirmed.
A spokesman for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs told the official TASS news agency it was “closely following” the situation.
“Taking into account reports that there are Russian nationals among the crew, we demand the American side ensure proper and humane treatment of them, strictly observe their rights and interests, and put no obstacles for their soonest return to the motherland,” the ministry said.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt rejected the Russian request during her regular briefing Wednesday.
“This was a Venezuelan shadow fleet vessel that has transported sanctioned oil,” she said. “The vessel was deemed stateless after flying a false flag, and it had a judicial seizure order, and that’s why the crew will be subject to prosecution.”
The Marinera was one of two ships seized by the US Wednesday that have ties to Moscow and had been “either last docked in Venezuela or en route to it” when American forces took action, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on X.
“In two predawn operations today, the Coast Guard conducted back-to-back meticulously coordinated boarding of two ‘ghost fleet’ tanker ships— one in the North Atlantic Sea and one in international waters near the Caribbean,” wrote Noem.
“Under President Trump’s bold and visionary leadership, US Coast Guard tactical teams worked closely with its counterparts at the Departments of War, Department of Justice and State and used their specialized expertise to conduct these operations and conduct two safe, effective boardings within hours of each other,” she added.
The Marinera “was seized in the North Atlantic pursuant to a warrant issued by a U.S. federal court after being tracked by USCGC Munro,” Stuttgart, Germany-based US European Command said in a statement. “This seizure supports [the president’s] Proclamation targeting sanctioned vessels that threaten the security and stability of the Western Hemisphere.”
Multiple outlets reported late Tuesday that Russia had dispatched military ships and a submarine to help the vessel reach Moscow’s waters ahead of the American pursuit.
“The heroic crew of the USCGC Munro pursued this vessel across the high seas and through treacherous storms— keeping diligent watch, and protecting our country with the determination and patriotism that make Americans proud,” Noem said. “These brave men and women deserve our nation’s thanks for their selfless devotion to duty.”
The second tanker, the M Sophia, was boarded in the Caribbean Sea en route to Venezuela.
That ship, sailing under a Panamanian flag, was sanctioned last year for being part of Russia’s “shadow fleet” of oil tankers.
“The world’s criminals are on notice. You can run, but you can’t hide,” Noem concluded. “We will never relent in our mission to protect the American people and disrupt the funding of narco terrorism wherever we find it, period.”
The operations came more than two weeks after the Marinera eluded a blockade around Venezuela and was reflagged as a Russian vessel in a failed bid to evade capture.
Both ships dodged a sweeping US quarantine of vessels transporting oil to and from Venezuela — a blockade that President Trump imposed late last year ahead of Saturday’s arrest of the South American country’s president, Nicolas Maduro.
“The blockade of sanctioned and illicit Venezuelan oil remains in FULL EFFECT — anywhere in the world,” Secretary of War Pete Hegseth proclaimed after the successful seizure.
US officials had been tracking the Marinera since a failed attempt to nab it on Dec. 20, 2025, and dispatched AC-130J gunships and P-8 Poseidon “sub-hunter” aircraft to assist with Wednesday’s interception, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Back in 2024, the US sanctioned the ship for transporting sanctioned Iranian oil and Hezbollah-owned cargo.
The seizures follow Operation Absolute Resolve, in which Delta Force soldiers stormed into Caracas and snatched Maduro and his wife from their fortified compound, bringing the Venezuelan strongman to America to face trial on federal drug-trafficking and weapons charges.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has publicly indicated that the Trump administration plans to leverage the quarantine around Venezuela to pressure the South American country to comply with its wishes.
“What’s going to happen here is that we have a quarantine on their oil,” Rubio told ABC News’ “This Week” Sunday. “That means their economy will not be able to move forward until the conditions that are in the national interest of the United States and the interest of the Venezuelan people are met. And that’s what we intend to do.
“That leverage remains. That leverage is ongoing. And we expect that it’s going to lead to results here.”
Trump first announced the oil blockade on Dec. 16, 2025. The president has been keen on tapping into Venezuela’s vast oil reserves, thought to be the largest of any country in the world.
On Tuesday, Trump claimed that the US will be getting more than $1 billion worth of oil from the Venezuelan regime.
“I am pleased to announce that the Interim Authorities in Venezuela will be turning over between 30 and 50 MILLION Barrels of High Quality, Sanctioned Oil, to the United States of America,” Trump crowed on Truth Social.
“This Oil will be sold at its Market Price, and that money will be controlled by me, as President of the United States of America, to ensure it is used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States!”