US seizes sanctioned oil tanker in Indian Ocean

 The US military "tracked and hunted" an oil tanker that operated in "defiance" of the US president's blockade of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean. 

WASHINGTON: US forces boarded and seized an oil tanker in the Indian Ocean that violated US President Donald Trump's blockade of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean and fled the region, the Pentagon said Monday (Feb 9).The Pentagon told AFP that US forces had seized the ship, after announcing on X that the Aquila II was boarded "without incident" overnight.

Quarantine of sanctioned vessels

The tanker "was operating in defiance of President Trump's established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean. It ran, and we followed," the Pentagon said on X, adding that the vessel was "tracked and hunted" from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean. The post included a video of US forces boarding a helicopter and then roping down onto the deck of a tanker ship.

Related : U.S. Coast Guard seizes Panama-registered Oil tanker moving sanctioned of Coast Venezuelan

The ship is the eighth

The ship is the eighth seized by the United States since Trump in December ordered a "blockade" of sanctioned oil vessels heading to and from Venezuela. And it is the second to lead US forces on a chase outside the region, after a Russia-linked tanker was apprehended in the North Atlantic last month after being pursued by the United States from off the coast of Venezuela.

Washington has deployed a huge naval force in the Caribbean

Washington has deployed a huge naval force in the Caribbean, striking boats it says were used for drug trafficking, seizing tankers and carrying out a stunning operation to seize Venezuela's leftist leader Nicolas Maduro. But the ships seized in recent months make up only a tiny fraction of the total number of sanctioned "dark fleet" vessels operating worldwide, which a senior US Coast Guard officer said number up to 800."It's a very small percentage" of vessels that have been seized, Rear Admiral David Barata told a congressional hearing earlier this month.
 

The Aquila II 

The Aquila II (IMO 9281152, MMSI 352001694 -built in 2004 -sailing under the flag of Panama   ) is the eighth ship seized by the US since Trump announced his "blockade," and the second to lead US forces out of the region in pursuit. In January, US forces nabbed a Russia-linked oil tanker in the North Atlantic after it fled the Venezuelan coast. Still despite these successes, the number of ships seized is miniscule compared to the 800 or so shadow vessels the US Coast Guard estimates currently operate worldwide.

 Source: AFP/fs + Agencies

#The Aquila II # US forces # Indian Ocean #the eighth ship #blockade #sanctioned vessels #Trump #The Pentagon # flag of Panama