US forces interdict another fugitive tanker ship in Indian Ocean

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American forces operating in the Indian Ocean intercepted another fugitive tanker ship, theDepartment of Warannounced Tuesday.

The development comes after PresidentDonald Trumpannounced a blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers going in and out of Venezuela in mid-December, as Washington increased its naval presence in the Caribbean to put pressure on now-former Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro.

The ship involved in Tuesday’s interdiction — the Bertha — was flagged bythe New York Timesas leaving Venezuela’s main oil port in early January following the U.S.military operation to capture Maduro.

“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 Department of War said on X.“The vessel was operating in defiance of President Trump’s established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean and attempted to evade.”

Bertha oil tanker as seen from U.S. helicopter

The Department of War announced on Tuesday, Feb.24, 2026, that U.S.forces intercepted the Bertha oil tanker.(Department of War)

“From the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean, we tracked it and stopped it.No other nation has the global reach, endurance, or will to enforce sanctions at this distance,” it added.

The Department of War said three boats that tried to flee the scene were captured.

“International waters are not a refuge for sanctioned actors.By land, air, or sea, our forces will find you and deliver justice,” it also said.“The Department of War will deny illicit actors and their proxies freedom of maneuver in the maritime domain.”

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The Department of War said the interdiction of the Bertha unfolded in the U.S.Indo-Pacific Command area of responsibility.(Department of War)

U.S.forces previously intercepted the Veronica III oil tanker on Feb.15 in the Indo-Pacific.

According to OpenSanctions, the Veronica III is listed on the U.S.Treasury Department’s Specially Designated Nationals sanctions list.

The Department of War said following the interdiction of the Bertha that, “International waters are not a refuge for sanctioned actors.”(Department of War)

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That tanker, a large crude oil carrier built in 2006 and flagged in Panama, has been linked to the transport of hundreds of thousands of metric tons ofsanctioned Iranian oiland is affiliated with a Chinese ship-management company that has also been sanctioned.

�s Ashley Carnahan contributed to this report.