The US Department of War has officially confirmed the interception and boarding of the vessel Aquila II. The operation took place within the Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) area of responsibility and concluded without incident.
According to the department, the ship was operating in violation of the quarantine imposed by President Donald Trump on sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean. After the Aquila II attempted to flee the exclusion zone, US forces initiated a massive pursuit extending from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean.
When the @DeptofWar says quarantine, we mean it. Nothing will stop DoW from defending our Homeland — even in oceans halfway around the world.
— Department of War 🇺🇸 (@DeptofWar) February 9, 2026
Overnight, U.S. military forces conducted a right-of-visit, maritime interdiction and boarding on the Aquila II without incident in the… pic.twitter.com/kYVAQC5io9
"When the Department of War says quarantine, we mean it. Nothing will stop DoW from defending our Homeland — even in oceans halfway around the world," the official statement read.
The Pentagon emphasized that no other nation possesses comparable global capabilities to enforce its mandates across land, air, and sea, warning potential violators that retribution is inevitable.
"You will run out of fuel long before you outrun us," the Department of War concluded.
According to the monitoring group War Sanctions, the detained Aquila II is part of Russia's so-called "shadow fleet," utilized to circumvent international sanctions.
