The Pentagon announced a?on?Tuesday that U.S. forces had captured an oil?tanker sanctioned in the Indian Ocean, after tracking it from Caribbean waters. It was the third such?interdiction.

The U.S. Department of Defense announced in a post to X that its forces had boarded Bertha over night. The crude oil tanker was accused of trying to evade Iran-related sanctions.

According to the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury Department, The Bertha is a ship that flies under a Cook Islands Flag and is connected to Shanghai Legendary?Company? Limited. Sanctions were imposed on this company in January 2020.

MarineTraffic's data shows that the vessel last reported its position via AIS tracking on February 24. It was sailing in the Indian Ocean near the Maldives.

"Overnight U.S. Forces conducted a right of visit, maritime interdiction, and boarding of Bertha without incident within the INDOPACOM zone of responsibility. The Pentagon stated that the vessel violated President Trump's quarantine established for sanctioned ships?in Caribbean and tried to evade. "We tracked and stopped the vessel from the Caribbean to Indian Ocean."

The Pentagon said that "three boats fled and all three have now been captured", but did not provide any other details.

In a statement made earlier this month, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated that U.S. forces had boarded Suezmax tanker Aquila II.

The U.S. seizes the Venezuelan crude oil tanker Marinera in January.

The U.S. president Donald?Trump ordered that the?Defense Department renamed itself as the Department of War. This change will require the action of Congress. (Reporting and editing by Susan Heavey, Jonathan Saul)

(source: Reuters)