US forces have intercepted an Iran-linked oil tanker in the Indian Ocean whose crew was accused of evading sanctions.
The Panama-flagged Veronica III was tracked from the Caribbean, where US forces have set up a cordon to prevent the shipping of Venezuelan oil.
“The vessel tried to defy President (Donald) Trump’s quarantine – hoping to slip away,” the Pentagon said on social media, adding that it was boarded “without incident”. “No other nation has the reach, endurance, or will to do this.”
A video accompanying the post showed US troops boarding the vessel by helicopter. The post did not say whether the Veronica III was formally seized and placed under US control.
The Veronica III has been under US sanctions since December 2024, as part of a crackdown on vessels involved in Iran's so-called shadow fleet, according to the Treasury Department.
“International waters are not sanctuary. By land, air, or sea, we will find you and deliver justice,” the Pentagon said. The Department of Defence would deny “illicit actors and their proxies” freedom of movement in the maritime domain.
This is one of several vessels to be boarded by US forces since mid-December, when it began putting pressure on Venezuelan leadership over its alleged ties to the regional drug trade.
The pressure on Caracas came after a lengthy US military build-up in the Caribbean and strikes on small boats believed to be carrying drugs, and culminated in the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.
It is the second known tanker to be intercepted in the Indian Ocean.
