The vessel seizures follow the improvement in India-US relations with Washington announcing recently that it would cut import tariffs on Indian goods to 18% from 50%.In a related development, US military forces boarded another sanctioned tanker in the Indian Ocean after tracking the vessel from the Caribbean Sea, in an effort to target illicit oil trade connected to Venezuela, the Pentagon said on Sunday.‘Shadow fleet’ vessels Stellar Ruby, Asphalt Star and Al Jafzia carrying sanctioned Iranian oil were seized on Feb 6. Their families have been demanding the release of the sailors.As for US forces boarding another sanctioned tanker in the Indian Ocean, Venezuela has faced US sanctions on its oil for several years and relied on a shadow fleet of falsely flagged tankers to smuggle crude into global supply chains. President Donald Trump ordered a quarantine of sanctioned tankers in Dec to pressure then-President Nicolás Maduro -- Maduro was apprehended in Jan during an American military operation.Several tankers fled the Venezuelan coast in the wake of the raid, including the ship that was boarded in the Indian Ocean overnight.
Author: Surendra Singh
Published at: 2026-02-16 20:29:52
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