TheUnited States militarycontinues to target sanctioned oil tankers around the globe.
PresidentDonald Trumpand Secretary of WarPete Hegsethhave made cutting off the flow of sanctioned oil from Iran,RussiaandVenezuelaa top priority.
The shadow fleet is a massive collection of oil tankers often flying false flags in order to move sanctioned oil. The United States has already captured several ships, and it added on to its collection over the weekend.
The Department of War announced Sunday morning that commandos from an unidentified unit stormed and seized the Veronica III over the weekend.
"We defend the Homeland forward. Distance does not protect you. Overnight, U.S. forces conducted a right-of-visit, maritime interdiction and boarding of the Veronica III without incident in the INDOPACOM area of responsibility. The vessel tried to defy President Trump’s quarantine —hoping to slip away. We tracked it from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean, closed the distance, and shut it down. No other nation has the reach, endurance, or will to do this. International waters are not sanctuary. By land, air, or sea, we will find you and deliver justice. The Department of War will deny illicit actors and their proxies freedom of movement in the maritime domain."
Obviously, if you're going to capture a ship, you need to make sure the cameras are rolling. The footage is exactly what people have come to expect and love from our tip of the spear units in the United States military.
Check it out below, and let me know your thoughts [email protected].
OpenSanctions.orgstates the following, in part, about the details of the Veronica III and how it found itself in the crosshairs of the U.S. military:
"The tanker (VLCC class) is engaged in the illegal transportation of hundreds of thousands of metric tons of sanctioned Iranian oil on behalf of the sanctioned National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), which is one of the largest oil and gas companies in the world and is controlled by the Iranian Ministry of Oil, and the sanctioned China Concord Petroleum Company, which was sanctioned by USA in late 2019 for violating restrictions on the handling and transaction of Iranian oil. Iran relies on an extensive network of tankers and ship management companies in many jurisdictions to transport its oil to consumers, using deceptive tactics (falsification of documentation, manipulation of ship tracking systems, constant changes of names and flags of vessels). The tanker is affiliated with Shanghai Future Ship Management Co Ltd (China), which was sanctioned by USA on December 03, 2024 for its activities in the oil sector of the Iranian economy."
Let this be a reminder to anyone who wants to mess with America that we can hunt them down anywhere around the globe. You can run, you can hide, but you won't evade justice. That much I can guarantee you. Let me know [email protected] you agree.
Source: The Latest & Most Breaking News With OutKick
