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Third tanker seized within short time
The USA have seized an oil tanker in the Indian Ocean for the third time in a short period during the night of Feb 23, 2026, following the earlier interceptions of the 'Aquila II' (IMO: 9281152) and the 'Veronica III' (IMO: 9326055) in the Indian Ocean.. This time it was the 'Bertha', while it was sailing off the Maldives. The vessel was operating in defiance of the quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean and attempted to evade. From the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean, it was tracked before US troops stopped it. The tanker was carrying approximately 1.9 million barrels of crude oil at the time of its interception. The 'Bertha' was the last of at least 16 oil tankers that left the Venezuelan coast after the capture of President Nicolás Maduro, using alternative routes to integrate into global hydrocarbon supply chains. The Cook Islands-flagged vessel is managed by the Shanghai Legendary Ship Management Company Ltd. and was sanctioned by theUSA in 2024 over its illicit transport of Iranian oil, activities, dating back to at least 2022. The 'Bertha', has also operated under the alias of 'Monica S', along with two other tankers managed by Shanghai Legendary Ship Management Company LTd. Reports with photo and video: https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2026/02/24/amerikanen-enteren-opnieuw-olietanker-in-indische-oceaan-a4921367 https://www.tvanouvelles.ca/2026/02/24/un-autre-petrolier-sanctionne-capture-par-larmee-americaine-dans-les-caraibes https://x.com/i/status/2026267884226494954
Tankers at risk of seizure identified
After the 'Veronica' (IMO: 9256860) was finally seized on Jan 15 as one of the closest behavioural matches to previously seized Venezuelan-linked tankers, the 'Bertha' was among a group of other tankers identified to be at risk. The ship has a very high maximum AIS gap (274 days), elevated STS and dark STS. Other vessels were the - 'Vesna': (IMO :9233349), with spoofing 5, high-risk STS 10, dark STS 15; - 'Veronica III' (IMO: 7338595) with moderate spoofing, elevated STS and dark STS; - 'Lydya N' (IMO: 9153525) with spoofing 6, dark STS 10. These vessels were representing the closest statistical matches to the established enforcement pattern and were most likely to be acted on once high-risk port calls or STS activity occurs. They had in common dark or deceptive AIS behaviour, offshore pause/loitering, movement resumption and enforcement disruption. AIS spoofing was identifed as the strongest leading indicator, while prolonged AIS gaps and dark/STS activities were forming a parallel enforcement trigger. Across the 19 sanctioned Venezuelan-linked vessels that departed offshore or non-anchorage areas under the existing US naval blockade, all tankers, which were seized, had converged on the same behavioural arc over the past five months: The recent seizures had occured when multiple risk dimensions compounded, and not when a single rule was breached: The Seized vessels had spoofed nearly two times more than non-seized peers (4.2 vs 2.21).. Four of the seized vessels showed high spoofing intensity (3 of 5 are extreme outliers). The parallel escalation tracks were spoofing-dominant escalation and AIS gap/dark or STS-dominant escalation. The seized vessels also showed a higher exposure to high-risk port calls, pointing to clear operational pressure points where enforcement risk accelerates. In contrast, flag ambiguity did not act as a meaningful discriminator.
Sanctioned shadow tanker flying false flag and using false name
The Cook Islands Maritime Authority stated tjat the 'Bertha' was deceptively continuing to use Cook Islands Identifiers despite being deregistered in Nov 2024: "It appears that Bertha is continuing to use Cook Islands identifiers (MMSI 518999103 and Call Sign E5U5084) in her AIS transmissions. This deceptive practice enables the vessel to show falsely as being registered with the Cook Islands on commercial tracking platforms," the authority said in a statement on Jan 7, 2026. The tanker, which flew under the Cooks flag for almost nine months in 2024, was among at least 16 vessels that have attempted to evade US blockades in Venezuela. The 'Bertha', under the false name of 'Ekta', has been located by US authorities in the Carribean. The vessels last location near the Gulf of Guinea was registered on Dec 23, 2025. The 'Bertha' was sanctioned for transportation of Iranian crude oil in Dece 2024, less than a month after it was deregistered by Maritime Cook Islands, Numerous Cooks-Islands flagged ships have been identified with Russia's shadow fleet of vessels illicitly trading in Russian and Iranian crude oil. Vessels within the shadow fleet are usually deceptive in their location signalling through AIS transmissions. This typically includes spoofing locations and broadcasting false vessel identities.
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