U.S. military forces boarded a third sanctioned oil tanker, the Bertha, in the Indian Ocean after tracking it from the Caribbean as part of efforts to intercept illicit oil linked to Venezuela.

Axar.az, citing AP, reports that according to U.S. Southern Command, forces conducted “a right-of-visit, maritime interdiction and boarding,” stating the vessel was operating “in defiance of President Trump’s established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean” and “attempted to evade.”

The tanker, flagged to the Cook Islands and under U.S. sanctions related to Iran, was reportedly carrying about 1.9 million barrels of crude oil.

The operation follows the capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, after which at least 16 tankers fled Venezuela’s coast.

Ship-tracking data indicated that the Bertha was the last of the original vessels still being pursued.

The action is part of broader U.S. efforts to enforce oil sanctions on Venezuela and disrupt the movement of sanctioned crude, though the Pentagon has not confirmed whether the tanker has been formally seized.