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Akbar Novruz

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US forces operating in the Indian Ocean have detained the oil tanker Aquila II for violating a sanctions regime imposed by the administration of US President Donald Trump, Azernews reports.

According to the US Department of War, cited by European Pravda, the US Armed Forces overnight carried out an inspection, maritime blockade and boarding of the vessel, with the operation proceeding without incident.

In a statement published on X (formerly Twitter), the Department of War said the tanker had been operating in defiance of US restrictions.
“The Aquila II was operating in defiance of President Trump’s established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean. It ran, and we followed. The Department of War tracked and hunted this vessel from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean. No other nation on planet Earth has the capability to enforce its will through any domain. By land, air, or sea, our Armed Forces will find you and deliver justice. You will run out of fuel long before you will outrun us,” the statement said.

Ukraine’s defence intelligence agency reported that the tanker is involved in the export of sanctioned Russian oil and petroleum products from Russian ports in the Black Sea, the Baltic Sea and the Pacific region. According to the agency, these operations were carried out using deceptive practices to conceal the vessel’s activities.

The Aquila II is considered part of Russia’s so-called shadow fleet and is linked to Sunne Co Ltd, a company sanctioned by the United States in January for its involvement in Russia’s energy sector.