The United States Coast Guard, working alongside the U.S. Navy, has seized a Nigerian-owned supertanker, Skipper, over allegations ranging from crude oil theft and piracy to hard-drug trafficking and links to international money-laundering networks.
The 20-year-old Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC), with IMO Number 9304667, is reportedly owned and managed by Thomarose Global Ventures Ltd., a Nigeria-based company, though its registered owner is listed as Triton Navigation Corp. in the Marshall Islands. Authorities say the vessel was illegally flying the Guyanese flag at the time it was intercepted.
In an immediate response, Guyana’s Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) denied any connection to the vessel, confirming that Skipper “is not on its national ship registry” and that it had been using the Guyanese flag without authorisation.
U.S. security officials disclosed that the interception was conducted under American law enforcement authority, with former President Donald Trump announcing the operation. Beyond allegations of stolen crude, investigators are probing the vessel’s suspected role in transporting a large consignment of hard drugs and operating within a network linked to Iranian and other Islamist-associated money-laundering financiers.
A search of Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) records in Abuja showed that Thomarose Global Ventures Ltd. is currently inactive. Vanguard’s further checks revealed the firm’s listed address as 111 Jakpa Road, Effurun, Warri, Delta State, under CAC registration number 1007876. No phone contacts are associated with the company.
Reacting to the development, Engr. Akin Olaniyan, President of the Centre for Marine Surveyors, Nigeria, said the incident raises troubling questions about Nigeria’s maritime regulatory oversight. According to him, “If the vessel emanated from Nigeria, it suggests our Port State Control is practically non-existent. It also means any vessel leaving Nigerian waters may come under stricter scrutiny by Port State Control authorities in other countries. This issue has nothing to do with Nigeria as a country, but with regulatory enforcement.”
Mazi Colman Obasi, National President of the Oil and Gas Service Providers Association of Nigeria (OGSPAN), expressed surprise at the vessel’s background. “I have never heard that Nigeria has a supertanker and that it is not active in CAC. I don’t even know if stakeholders are aware. Anyway, the government and other agencies can do more,” he said.
President of the Ship Owners Association of Nigeria (SOAN), Otunba Sola Adewumi, said he could not immediately comment on the matter, explaining he needed more details. He appealed for time to “ascertain the vessel’s ownership and registration status.”
Similarly, former Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Mr. Temisan Omatseye, said he had only just received information about the seizure and was unable to provide an informed reaction.
For its part, NIMASA also said it had no official information on the development. The agency’s spokesperson, Mr. Edward Osagie, told Vanguard to send a formal enquiry, assuring that the agency would respond appropriately.
A Port Harcourt–based energy analyst described the situation as troubling, especially given the multiple agencies tasked with combating oil theft. “With the existence of some government agencies and the involvement of private contractors, we expected oil theft and other illegal activities to stop or reduce drastically. One is surprised that this and other practices still go on,” he said.
He added, “All agencies need to do more than they currently do. No nation can progress if its citizens continue to steal its crude, the resource that enables the nation to generate foreign exchange for economic development.”
[VANGUARD]
