US military forces have boarded the Veronica III, a 2006-built very-large crude carrier (VLCC) in the Indian Ocean after tracking it from the Caribbean Sea, the US Department of Defense said on 15 February.
The Veronica III departed Venezuela on 3 January 2026 laden with around 1.9mn bl of crude oil and fuel oil, according to ship-tracking service TankerTrackers, and was previously involved in shipments of Russian, Iranian and Venezuelan oil.
The US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned the Veronica III in December 2024, according to TankerTrackers. The Veronica III was also reportedly flying a false flag. The Panama Maritime Authority confirmed on 15 February that the vessel is no longer listed under the Panamanian flag, noting its removal from the national ship registry as of 11 December 2024.
"The vessel tried to defy President Trump's quarantine — hoping to slip away," the US Department of Defense said. "We tracked it from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean, closed the distance, and shut it down."
The move by US forces on the Veronica III marks the second such interception of an oil tanker in the Indian Ocean in a week, after the Aquila II, a Suezmax tanker, was seized in a similar fashion on 9 February.
