U.S. forces intercepted the sanctioned vessel Aquila II without incident, enforcing President Trump’s maritime quarantine and demonstrating America’s global interdiction reach.
U.S. forces have intercepted and boarded the sanctioned oil tanker Aquila II in the Indian Ocean, concluding a dramatic multi-week pursuit that spanned more than 10,000 nautical miles from the Caribbean Sea.
The operation, announced by the Pentagon on February 9, 2026, occurred "without incident" in the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command area of responsibility. The Panama-flagged vessel—linked to Russia's "shadow fleet" and previously sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury for transporting Russian oil in violation of price caps—was carrying approximately 700,000 barrels of Venezuelan crude oil, reportedly bound for China.
