The Pentagon said on Monday that United States forces boarded a Panama-flagged oil tanker in the Indian Ocean after tracking the vessel from the Caribbean, following what it described as attempts to evade monitoring.

According to the Department of Defense, the tanker, identified as the Aquila II, was operating in violation of US sanctions. While it remains unclear whether the vessel was directly linked to Venezuela’s so-called “shadow fleet,” US officials said it had been placed under sanctions and was subject to restrictions on its movement.

France’s AFP news agency reported that US forces seized the tanker, citing a social media post announcing that the Aquila II had been “boarded without incident.”

The Department of Defense also released a video on the social media platform X showing the boarding operation. In the accompanying statement, the Pentagon said the tanker had attempted to evade US forces after departing the Caribbean.

“The Aquila II was operating in defiance of President Donald Trump’s established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean,” the statement said. “It ran, and we followed.”

US officials did not immediately provide further details about the tanker’s cargo, destination, or any crew members on board.