US Intercepts Another Russian "shadow Fleet" Tanker In The Indian Ocean

• 9.02.2026, 18:40

The Aquila II vessel was used to export sub-sanctioned Russian oil.

The United States intercepted the tanker Aquila II in the Indian Ocean. The vessel was in violation of the sanctions regime.

The Pentagon reported.

"The Aquila II was acting in defiance of President Trump's quarantine of sub-sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean. It was fleeing - and we went after it. The Ministry of War tracked and pursued this vessel from the Caribbean Sea to the Indian Ocean," it noted.

The Defense Department's GSD portal reports that the tanker is involved in exporting sub-sanctioned Russian oil and oil products from Russian ports in the Black Sea, the Baltic Sea, and the Pacific Ocean.

The vessel has been sanctioned by the US, UK, EU, Canada, Switzerland, and Ukraine.