US seizes sanctioned oil tanker in Indian Ocean with ties to Iran

By Zach LaChance

Published February 15, 2026 5:51pm ET

The U.S. military has seized another oil tanker that was trying to “defy” President Donald Trump’s blockade on all sanctioned vessels going in and out of Venezuela.

The War Department said the vessel, Veronica III, sought to evade sanctions by transiting from the Caribbean Sea to the Indian Ocean. Troops boarded the ship early Sunday and seized it “without incident.”