On Monday, February 9, 2026, the U.S. Department of Defense released video footage of the detention of the tanker Aquila II (IMO 9281152) in the Indian Ocean. The vessel, sailing under the Panamanian flag, had been illegally transporting Venezuelan crude oil as part of the so-called Shadow Fleet. The interception followed a pursuit within the area of responsibility of United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM).
Photo: the U.S. Department of Defense
According to the statement, during the night of February 8–9 (U.S. time), U.S. armed forces conducted, without incident, the inspection, interception, and boarding of the tanker Aquila II, which had been operating in violation of an executive order issued by U.S. President Donald Trump imposing an embargo on the so-called Shadow Fleet operating in the Caribbean. Officials stated that the vessel had been tracked from the Caribbean all the way to the Indian Ocean.
According to schedules published by the Venezuelan company Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA), the ship departed Venezuelan territorial waters in early January of this year carrying approximately 700,000 barrels of crude oil bound for the People’s Republic of China. The U.S. pursuit reportedly covered a distance of about 10,000 nautical miles.
Aquila II is a Suezmax crude oil tanker built in 2004 by Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. The vessel is 274 meters long, 43.04 meters wide, with a gross tonnage of 80,620 tons and a deadweight of 159,073 DWT. It originally sailed under the Greek flag under the name Astro Polaris. Since July 2022, it has been registered under the Panamanian flag. One hundred days ago, while in the Baltic Sea, it stopped transmitting AIS signals (at the time, its flag registration was reportedly considered fraudulent). The last listed owner was Linnet Marguerite Ltd. of Hong Kong, while crew safety management was handled by Occee Co Ltd.
According to information on the Shadow Fleet compiled by the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and published on the War & Sanctions information portal, during the period of the G7 oil embargo and price cap on Russian crude, the vessel called at ports in Ningbo (PRC), Novorossiysk (Russia), Omišalj (Croatia), Zhoushan (PRC), Mumbai (India), Ust-Luga (Russia), Kozmino (Russia), Duqm (Oman), New Mangalore (India), Visakhapatnam (India), Kochi (India), Jamnagar-Sikka (India), and Khor Fakkan (United Arab Emirates).
The vessel is subject to international sanctions for transporting Russian and Venezuelan crude oil: U.S. sanctions (OFAC) since January 10, 2025; UK sanctions (OFSI) since September 12, 2025; Canadian sanctions since November 12, 2025; and Swiss and Ukrainian sanctions since December 13, 2025.
This marks another Shadow Fleet tanker detained by the United States and linked to Russia, Venezuela, and Iran. Previously, seven vessels had been detained by U.S. authorities (one of which has since been released). On January 22 of this year, France detained the tanker Grinch in the Mediterranean Sea. Similar measures have been announced by the United Kingdom. Earlier detentions – limited to inspections of suspicious vessels in connection with undersea cable sabotage – were carried out by Finland, Estonia, and Germany in the Baltic Sea.
When the @DeptofWar says quarantine, we mean it. Nothing will stop DoW from defending our Homeland — even in oceans halfway around the world.
Overnight, U.S. military forces conducted a right-of-visit, maritime interdiction and boarding on the Aquila II without incident in the… pic.twitter.com/kYVAQC5io9
— Department of War 🇺🇸 (@DeptofWar) February 9, 2026