Interception of a sanctioned oil tanker by the United States was also associated with the Russian so-called shadow fleet, which reflects the Washington attempts to impose sanctions on the sea area and prevent illicit energy export of sanctioned states.
The US authorities announced on Monday, February 9, that American military forces had boarded the tanker Aquila II in the Indo-Pacific area after they established that the tanker was sailing against the US restrictions. According to a statement made on X, the US Department of Defense claimed that the operation entailed a right-of-visit inspection, maritime interdiction and boarding which were both accomplished without resistance and incident.
The department said that the tanker had been flouting a US imposed quarantine on sanctioned ships. The US forces are said to have monitored Aquila II over the long distance as it passed through the Indian Ocean after traveling through the Caribbean Sea and then they undertook the interception.
The Ukrainian intelligence-based monitoring source War & Sanctions has reported that Aquila II belongs to a fleet of tankers that are used to deliver sanctioned Russian crude oil and petroleum products. According to the platform, the ship has been sailing through several areas, such as the Black Sea, Baltic Sea, and Pacific Ocean, and it has often tried to hide its operations with the help of fraudulent shipping methods.
The tanker has been linked to the Sunne Co Limited which was authorized by the United States on January 10, 2025, due to its involvement in the energy sector of Russia. The US authorities also on the same day considered Aquila II as sanctioned property in relation to the company.
Tanker Official flag status in War and Sanctions International shipping databases list the vessel as having an unknown status of a flag, but it has previously flown under the Panamanian flag and this raises concerns that it is intentionally obfuscated.
Several governments of the West have agreed to impose co-ordinated sanctions on Aquila II. In September 2025, the United Kingdom sanctioned the vessel and then the European Union in October. Canada and Switzerland placed limitations in November and December respectively. Aquila II was later added to the nation sanctions list of Ukraine the same month.
Ukrainian intelligence reported in January 2026 that the tanker was one of at least 16 vessels that have left Venezuelan ports in contravention of a US maritime blockade imposed in Operation Southern Spear. It is said that at the moment the ship was sailing under the name Cape Balder and was believed to be transporting the Venezuelan crude oil or fuel oil.
According to War&Sanctions the tanker has been utilized to carry both Russian and Venezuelan oil and is considered one of the main resources in the attempt to avoid international limitations.
According to the US officials, the interception of Aquila II serves to underscore the active nature of Washington in applying sanctions and interfering with illegal maritime trade that supports an illegal government that is sanctioned.
This action occurs after some recent enforcement measures. On January 7, US military made an interception of the Russian-flagged tanker Marinera, which had circumvented a US blockade on Venezuelan oil over 2 weeks before being monitored in the Atlantic. The US military then on January 21, apprehended the tanker Sagitta in the Caribbean Sea on the grounds that it was carrying the illegal shipment of Venezuelan oil.
Collectively, the measures are an indicator of a heightened US campaign to combat sanction evasion by sea, especially the oil shipments associated with Russia and Venezuela, as the pressure to limit revenues supporting sanctioned regimes escalates.