A chase from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean. The US seized a tanker from the Russian “shadow fleet”

US forces intercepted the sanctioned Aquila II tanker in the Indian Ocean as it tried to escape the US “quarantine” of such ships in the Caribbean Sea, the Pentagon said on Monday. The tanker is linked to the Russian shadow fleet.

According to the ministry in a statement, the interception and boarding of the ship took place last night and took place “without incident.”

“The Aquila II was operating in violation of President Trump's quarantine of sanctioned ships in the Caribbean. It escaped, and we followed. The Department of War tracked and pursued this ship from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean,” the X platform said in a statement.

“No other country on Earth has the ability to enforce its will in every domain. On land, in the air and at sea, our Armed Forces will find you and bring you to justice. You will run out of fuel long before you surpass us,” it added. It is not yet clear what will happen to the captured ship.

Aquila II – is a tanker flying the Panamanian flag and owned by a company registered in Hong Kong. He is one of several dozen who fled the U.S.-announced blockade of Venezuela in January. The ship was subject to US sanctions in January 2025 as part of the Russian shadow fleet, exporting crude oil, among others. from the port of Novorossiysk on the Black Sea. It is also subject to EU and UK sanctions.

This is at least the eighth tanker detained by US forces as part of the blockade of Venezuela. Most of the existing ships were subject to sanctions as part of actions against Russia.

From Washington Oskar Górzyński (PAP)

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