U.S. Southern Command has intercepted the oil tanker Sagitta (M/T Sagitta), which is linked to Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet,” in the Caribbean Sea.
According to the command’s press office, this interception was the seventh carried out as part of an operation aimed at tightening sanctions on the illegal export of Venezuelan oil.
The tanker Sagitta, sailing under the Panamanian flag, is owned by the Hong Kong–based company Sunne Co. Limited. The U.S. Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions on the firm in January 2025 for transporting Russian crude oil.
Maritime tracking data confirm that the vessel previously transported Russian oil and later switched to carrying Venezuelan crude.
For three years, the tanker shipped crude oil from Baltic and Pacific ports to China and India. The vessel itself was placed under U.S. sanctions in August 2025.
Since early December 2025, U.S. Southern Command has launched an active phase of its operation to block the illegal export of oil from Venezuela.
The first seizure took place on December 10, 2025, in the Caribbean Sea, when U.S. forces intercepted the M/T Skipper tanker.
The vessel had been under sanctions since 2022 due to its links to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the shadow fleet. At the time of its detention, the tanker was carrying Venezuelan crude oil.
Subsequently, on December 20, 2025, U.S. forces took control of the M/T Centuries supertanker in the Caribbean Sea. A total of 1.83 million barrels of crude oil were recorded on board.
At the time of interception, the vessel did not appear on public sanctions lists. It was identified as part of the shadow fleet and detained after links to illegal fuel trafficking networks were uncovered.
On January 7, 2026, the United States seized two vessels at once. In the Caribbean Sea, military forces intercepted the M/T Sophia, a sanctioned shadow-fleet tanker operating without national registration.
On the same day, in the North Atlantic, the tanker Marinera (formerly Bella 1) was detained after a two-week pursuit supported by the British Navy. The vessel was sailing under the Russian flag and had repeatedly changed its name and registration to evade sanctions.
On January 9, 2026, U.S. forces seized the M/T Olina in the Caribbean Sea. This incident became the fifth or sixth in the series, depending on the counting method.
On January 15, 2026, another interception took place in the same region, involving the M/T Veronica, a tanker flying the flag of Guyana and also linked to the shadow fleet.
Source: Militarnyi
