US forces board Veronica III oil tanker after Trump quarantine evasion
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US forces intercepted a ship in the Indo-Pacific after it attempted to circumvent a quarantine order issued by the Trump administration, the Department of War (DOW) said on Sunday.
In a statement about X, DOW said Veronica III was boarded without incident while operating in the US Indo-Pacific Command area of responsibility.
“The ship attempted to defy President Trump’s quarantine, hoping to escape. We tracked, distanced and closed from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean. No other nation has the reach, stamina or will to do this,” the government account said.
“International waters are not a shelter. We will find you by land, air or sea and provide justice.” “The War Department will impede the freedom of movement of illicit actors and their proxies in the maritime domain.”
US SOLDIERS SEIZED SEVERAL MORE OIL TANKERS BOUND TO VENEZUELA
U.S. forces implemented visitation rights, maritime interdiction, and boarding of the Veronica III without incident in the INDOPACOM area of responsibility following the ship’s alleged attempt to defy President Trump’s quarantine on February 15, 2026. (X/@DeptofWar)
The Veronica III is the latest in a series of high-profile naval seizures by the US military in an effort to enforce sanctions and restrict the export of Venezuelan oil.
As Washington ramps up its naval presence in the Caribbean to pressure former Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, President Donald Trump announced a blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela in mid-December.
According to OpenSanctionsVeronica III is on the U.S. Treasury Department’s Specially Designated Nationals sanctions list.
U.S. forces are enforcing visitation rights, maritime interdiction, and boarding of the Veronica III in the INDOPACOM area of responsibility after the ship allegedly attempted to defy President Trump’s February 15, 2026 quarantine. (X/@DeptofWar)
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The tanker, a large Panama-flagged crude oil carrier built in 2006, is linked to the transportation of hundreds of thousands of metric tons of sanctioned Iranian oil and is affiliated with a Chinese ship management company that is also sanctioned.
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OpenSanctions notes that the ship previously sailed under different names and flags as part of efforts to evade sanctions and conceal its activities at sea.
Veronica III was among the ships approved by the Treasury in December 2024 as part of a broader action targeting 35 other entities and tankers involved in transporting illicit Iranian oil to foreign markets.
