U.S. Indo-Pacific Command released footage of its forces interdicting a sanctioned oil tanker in the Indian Ocean.
U.S. Navy helicopters landed U.S. forces on the stateless vessel MT Davina, in an operation described as a “maritime interdiction and right-of-visit boarding.” The oil supertanker, capable of carrying up to 2 million barrels of crude oil, according to the Military Times, was sanctioned in October 2024 for trading Iranian oil.
“We will continue global maritime enforcement to disrupt illicit networks and interdict vessels providing material support to Iran, wherever they operate,” INDOPACOM said in a post on X. “International waters cannot be used as a shield by sanctioned actors.”
An attached video showed armed helicopters circling the vessel, with at least a dozen troops fast-roping onto its huge deck. The troops moved with little apparent urgency.
The INDOPACOM statement didn’t indicate what was done with the vessel after its interdiction, but the video showed the troops departing its deck.
