U.S. Forces Seize Third Sanctioned Oil Tanker In Indian Ocean After Tracking It From Caribbean

U.S. military forces have taken control of a sanctioned crude oil tanker in the Indian Ocean after tracking it from the Caribbean.

The Pentagon confirmed the overnight boarding of the tanker Bertha, stating the vessel was operating in violation of U.S. sanctions.

In a post on X, the U.S. Department of Defense said American personnel conducted a “right-of-visit, maritime interdiction and boarding” of the tanker without incident in the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) area of responsibility.

The Pentagon stated that the vessel had attempted to evade President Donald Trump’s established quarantine of sanctioned vessels operating from the Caribbean.

Officials said the tanker was tracked from the Caribbean Sea across thousands of nautical miles before being intercepted in the Indian Ocean.

According to AIS data from MarineTraffic, the vessel’s last reported position was on February 24 near the Maldives.

The Pentagon added that three vessels had attempted to flee and all three have now been captured, though it did not provide further operational details.

Three boats ran and now all three have been captured.

Overnight, U.S. forces conducted a right-of-visit, maritime interdiction and boarding of the Bertha without incident in the INDOPACOM area of responsibility. The vessel was operating in defiance of President Trump’s… pic.twitter.com/YoHlb9v54p

— Department of War (@DeptofWar) February 24, 2026

The crude oil tanker Bertha flies under the Cook Islands flag and is linked to Shanghai Legendary Ship Management Company Limited.

According to the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the vessel has been under U.S. sanctions since January 2020 over Iran-related restrictions.

Shipping intelligence platform Equasis shows the tanker was more recently listed under a false flag of Curaçao and managed by a company in China.

Maritime tracking group TankerTrackers.com reported that the vessel was carrying approximately 1.9 million barrels of Merey 16 crude oil, a heavy Venezuelan grade typically exported to China.

The tanker reportedly left Venezuelan waters in early January as part of a flotilla.

At least 16 tankers fled the Venezuelan coast after the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro during a U.S. military operation in early January.

Per industry sources, he Bertha was the last remaining tanker from that group still at sea.

This boarding marks the third interdiction of a sanctioned tanker in the Indian Ocean since January. Earlier this month, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed American forces had boarded the Suezmax tanker Aquila II. In mid-February, U.S. forces also seized the tanker Veronica III in the same region.

According to U.S. officials, at least 10 oil tanker interdictions have been carried out since December. Most were conducted in the Caribbean or North Atlantic. In some cases, vessels were later released.

A U.S. official said the Bertha has not been formally seized but placed under U.S. control pending decisions by the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department.

The tanker was reportedly transporting 1.9 million barrels of crude oil, equivalent to nearly two days of Venezuelan oil exports at recent reduced production levels.

References: Reuters, FirstPost

Source: Maritime Shipping News