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US Navy Intercepts Iran Shadow Fleet Sanctions-Evading Tanker Veronica III
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The United States has intercepted and detained the oil tanker Veronica III in the Indian Ocean, alleging violations of US sanctions targeting Iran’s shadow fleet.
According to the US Department of War in a statement published on X on February 15, American forces tracked the vessel from the Caribbean basin to the Indian Ocean before carrying out the operation.
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The Pentagon stated that the boarding and inspection were conducted without incident. “International waters are not a sanctuary. On land, in the air or at sea we will find you and hold you accountable,” the Pentagon said in its statement.
According to the US Department of War, the tanker Veronica III (IMO: 9326055), sailing under the flag of Panama, was intercepted overnight on February 15 by US forces operating in the Indo-Pacific region. The vessel was reportedly linked to attempts to bypass sanctions imposed by Washington on the transportation of Iranian oil.
We defend the Homeland forward. Distance does not protect you.
— Department of War 🇺🇸 (@DeptofWar) February 15, 2026
Overnight, U.S. forces conducted a right-of-visit, maritime interdiction and boarding of the Veronica III without incident in the INDOPACOM area of responsibility.
The vessel tried to defy President Trump’s… pic.twitter.com/Tran3cLR9g
The Pentagon said the ship had been monitored over a prolonged period before being stopped in the Indian Ocean. US officials described the operation as part of broader enforcement efforts aimed at sanction compliance.
According to the Pentagon, the vessel had “attempted to violate the quarantine of President Donald Trump,” referring to measures introduced by the US administration against ships suspected of transporting sanctioned oil.
US officials also warned other vessels against attempting similar activities under sanctions regimes.
Veronica III is an oil tanker previously included on the US Treasury Department’s sanctions list in March 2024 as part of expanded restrictions targeting Iran’s maritime oil exports. The sanctions documentation cited links between the vessel and the Chinese company SHANGHAI FUTURE SHIP MANAGEMENT CO LTD, which is also under US restrictions.
According to Ukrainian military intelligence’s War Sanctions database, the tanker may have been used to transport hundreds of thousands of tons of sanctioned Iranian and Venezuelan oil.
Earlier on January 15, US forces seized the oil tanker Veronica in a pre-dawn boarding operation in the Caribbean. According to US Southern Command, Marines and sailors “apprehended Motor/Tanker Veronica without incident,” describing the vessel as “operating in defiance of President Trump’s established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean.”
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