Overview
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced an overnight right-of-visit boarding of the Panamanian‑flagged Aquila II in the Indian Ocean after it was tracked from the Caribbean Sea.
- Pentagon video showed troops fast‑roping onto the tanker, and a Navy official confirmed the USS Pinckney, USS John Finn and USS Miguel Keith were operating in the area.
- Officials said the vessel was operating in defiance of the U.S. quarantine on sanctioned tankers; it is being held while authorities determine its disposition and has not been formally seized.
- Reuters, citing PDVSA schedules, reported the ship left Venezuela in January with about 700,000 barrels bound for China, though transmitted data Monday indicated it was not currently laden with crude.
- The Hong Kong‑linked ship is under U.S. sanctions tied to the Russian oil trade and has frequently run dark, and the interdiction comes after the U.S. seized at least seven other Venezuela‑linked tankers since December.