1 hour ago
Last Updated:February 15, 2026, 20:25 IST
US forces intercepted the Veronica III oil tanker in the Indian Ocean after it tried to defy President Trump’s quarantine on sanctioned vessels, tracking it from the Caribbean.
US military forces boarded a sanctioned tanker in the Indian Ocean after tracking the vessel from the Caribbean Sea. (Department of War/X)
The US has intercepted an oil tanker in the Indian Ocean that had come from Caribbean, which tried to defy President Donald Trump’s quarantine, the Defense Department said.
In a post on X, the Department of War said: “We defend the Homeland forward. Distance does not protect you. Overnight, U.S. forces conducted a right-of-visit, maritime interdiction and boarding of the Veronica III without incident in the INDOPACOM area of responsibility."
Trump had ordered a quarantine of sanctioned tankers in December to pressure then-President Nicolás Maduro before Maduro was apprehended in January.
We defend the Homeland forward. Distance does not protect you.Overnight, U.S. forces conducted a right-of-visit, maritime interdiction and boarding of the Veronica III without incident in the INDOPACOM area of responsibility.
The vessel tried to defy President Trump’s… pic.twitter.com/Tran3cLR9g
— Department of War 🇺🇸 (@DeptofWar) February 15, 2026
The defence department said: “The vessel tried to defy President Trump’s quarantine —hoping to slip away. We tracked it from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean, closed the distance, and shut it down. No other nation has the reach, endurance, or will to do this. waters are not sanctuary. By land, air, or sea, we will find you and deliver justice."
“The Department of War will deny illicit actors and their proxies freedom of movement in the maritime domain," it added.
The department also shared a video which showed US forces on board the tanker.
The Hill quoted MarineTracker, a ship-tracking website, showed Veronica III, a Panamanian crude oil tanker, in the middle of the Indian Ocean, south of Indonesia, at close to 8 am EST Sunday.
According to New York Times, the tanker was previously been linked to Venezuela which reported last month that it departed from the country’s main oil port.
Last week, the US military intercepted a different oil tanker it claimed had been operating despite Trump’s quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Indian Ocean. The military had also chased after the ship from the Caribbean.
In past months, the US has seized multiple oil tankers in the Caribbean.
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Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)
First Published:
February 15, 2026, 20:25 IST
News world US Intercepts Another Oil tanker In Indian Ocean For 'Defying President Trump’s Quarantine'
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