The Pentagon stated on Tuesday (February 24) that the US military had conducted an overnight interception and boarding inspection of the “Bertha” tanker, which had been tracked all the way from the Caribbean Sea. This operation marks the third interception in the Indian Ocean region.
According to the statement released by the US Southern Command on X website, the US military intercepted and boarded the “Bertha” tanker at night, as it openly violated the US sanctions on ships in the Caribbean under President Trump’s orders in an attempt to evade the sanctions. The US military tracked the tanker from the Caribbean Sea all the way to the Indian Ocean and successfully intercepted it.
A video released by the Pentagon shows US military helicopters approaching the “Bertha” tanker. The Pentagon statement emphasized that international waters are not a safe haven for those under sanctions, and whether by land, air, or sea, the US military will track them down and bring them to justice.
The Pentagon statement did not specify whether the “Bertha” tanker had been formally detained and brought under US control. It only mentioned that apart from the Southern Command’s statement on X, no further information was provided.
Samir Madani, co-founder of the TankerTrackers.com vessel tracking website, stated that after the arrest of Maduro, at least 16 tankers hurriedly left the Venezuelan coast. The “Bertha” tanker was the only one continuously tracked by the US military.
MarineTraffic data shows that the “Bertha” tanker was last seen on the AIS vessel tracking system on February 24, navigating in the Indian Ocean near the Maldives.
On Tuesday, Madani informed the Associated Press that the “Bertha” tanker was carrying a total of 1.9 million barrels of crude oil. Over the past few years, the tanker received Iranian oil through hoses from other vessels and then transported it to China. Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA’s shipping report also indicated that the “Bertha” tanker was carrying about 1.9 million barrels of heavy crude oil destined for China.
Venezuela has long been facing US oil sanctions, relying on a shadow fleet of oil tankers flying false flags to smuggle oil to various countries. These shadow fleets constantly change flags to disguise their true identities, transporting oil from sanctioned oil-producing countries like Iran, Russia, or Venezuela.
According to the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control website, the “Bertha” tanker is flagged in the Cook Islands and is associated with the Shanghai Legendary Ship Management Company, subject to the Iranian sanctions imposed in January 2020.
President Trump ordered the isolation of sanctioned tankers to pressure Maduro in December last year. In January, Maduro was arrested in a US military operation. Subsequently, the US intensified its blockade on sanctioned ships traveling to and from Venezuela.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated earlier this month that US forces conducted a boarding inspection on the Suezmax tanker “Aquila II”. On February 15, the US military detained the “Veronica III” tanker in the same sea area.
According to Reuters analysis, since December last year, the US military has intercepted 10 tankers (including the most recent detention) and has returned at least two of them to the new government of Venezuela.