US military forces have seized a sanctioned oil tanker in the Indian Ocean after tracking it from the Caribbean, the Pentagon said on Tuesday, describing the operation as the third such interdiction
US military forces have seized a sanctioned oil tanker in the Indian Ocean after tracking it from the Caribbean, the Pentagon said on Tuesday, describing the operation as the third such interdiction.
In a post on X, the US Department of Defence said American personnel boarded the crude oil tanker Bertha overnight. The Pentagon alleged that the vessel was attempting to evade sanctions related to Iran.
Three boats ran and now all three have been captured.
Overnight, U.S. forces conducted a right-of-visit, maritime interdiction and boarding of the Bertha without incident in the INDOPACOM area of responsibility. The vessel was operating in defiance of President Trump’s… pic.twitter.com/YoHlb9v54p
— Department of War 🇺🇸 (@DeptofWar) February 24, 2026
The Bertha, registered under the Cook Islands flag, is connected to Shanghai Legendary Ship Management Company Limited and has been under US sanctions since January 2020, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said.
According to MarineTraffic data, the tanker’s last reported location on AIS tracking was February 24 in the Indian Ocean near the Maldives.
“Overnight, US forces conducted a right-of-visit, maritime interdiction and boarding of the Bertha without incident in the INDOPACOM area of responsibility. The vessel was operating in defiance of President Trump’s established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean and attempted to evade,” the Pentagon wrote.
“From the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean, we tracked it and stopped it.”
“Three boats ran and now all three have been captured,” the Pentagon added, but gave no other details.
Earlier this month, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed that American forces had boarded the Suezmax tanker Aquila II.
In January, the US also seized the Venezuelan-linked crude oil tanker Marinera.
Separately, President Donald Trump has directed the Defense Department to be renamed the Department of War, a change that would require approval from Congress.
With inputs from agencies
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