The United States has intercepted a sanctioned oil tanker identified as part of Russia’s so-called shadow fleet, US authorities said on Monday, Feb. 9.
According to a statement published on X by the US Department of Defense, US military forces carried out a right-of-visit, maritime interdiction and boarding of the tanker Aquila II in the Indo-Pacific region “without incident.”
The department said the vessel was operating in defiance of a US-imposed quarantine on sanctioned ships and was tracked by American forces from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean before being intercepted.
Tanker tied to Russian oil exports
Ukraine’s military intelligence-linked War&Sanctions portal identifies Aquila II as a tanker involved in exporting sanctioned Russian oil and petroleum products from ports in the Black Sea, Baltic Sea and the Pacific region, often using deceptive shipping practices.
The tanker is linked to Sunne Co Limited, a company sanctioned by the United States on Jan. 10, 2025, for operating in Russia’s energy sector. On the same date, the US also imposed sanctions directly on Aquila II as property in which the company held an interest.
According to international shipping databases cited by War&Sanctions, the vessel’s flag status is officially listed as unknown, although it has been operating under the Panamanian flag.
Under sanctions across multiple jurisdictions
Aquila II has since been sanctioned by multiple Western countries. The United Kingdom imposed sanctions on the vessel in September 2025, followed by the European Union in October, Canada in November and Switzerland in December. Ukraine added the tanker to its own sanctions list in December 2025.
In January 2026, the tanker was among at least 16 vessels that departed Venezuelan ports in violation of a US maritime blockade under Operation Southern Spear, according to Ukrainian intelligence. At the time, the ship reportedly operated under the name Cape Balder and was suspected of carrying Venezuelan crude oil or fuel oil.
War&Sanctions notes that Aquila II has been used to transport both Russian and Venezuelan oil and is currently under sanctions imposed by the United States, the EU, the UK, Switzerland, Canada and Ukraine.
US officials said the operation underscored Washington’s intent to enforce sanctions and disrupt illicit maritime activity linked to sanctioned states and actors.
On Jan. 7, US forces intercepted the Russian-flagged vessel Marinera, which was under sanctions, after it evaded a US blockade on Venezuelan oil for more than two weeks and was pursued across the Atlantic Ocean. On Jan. 21, the US military seized the oil tanker Sagitta in the Caribbean Sea, saying it was transporting Venezuelan oil in violation of US restrictions.