The United States intercepted in the Indian Ocean the Veronica III, a vessel on the US sanctions list for transporting Iranian oil, the country’s military ministry said on 15 February.
The department said the U.S. military had been tracking the vessel from the Caribbean Sea to the Indian Ocean. “The vessel was trying to circumvent the quarantine imposed by (US President Donald) Trump,” the report said.
According to MarineTraffic, the Veronica III oil tanker is flying the flag of Panama.
Last week, the US military boarded the Aquila II in the Indian Ocean, which was also being tracked from the Caribbean. The tanker is suspected of trying to transport Venezuelan oil to China to circumvent sanctions. It was added to the US sanctions list as part of Russia’s “shadow fleet”.