US Seizes Rogue Oil Tanker Off Venezuela, Signals New Crackdown on Shadow Fleet
The oil tanker was steaming near the coast of Guyana recently when its location transponder showed it starting to zigzag. It was a seemingly improbable maneuver and the latest digital clue that the ship, the Skipper, was trying to obscure its whereabouts and the valuable cargo stored inside its hull: tens of millions of dollars’ worth of illicit crude oil.
On Wednesday, U.S. commandos fast-roping from helicopters seized the 1,090-feet ship — not where it appeared to be navigating on ship tracking platforms but some 360 nautical miles to the northwest, near the coast of Venezuela.
The seizure marked a dramatic escalation in President Donald Trump’s campaign to pressure strongman Nicolás Maduro by cutting off access to oil revenues that have long been the lifeblood of Venezuela’s economy. It could also signal a broader U.S. campaign to clamp down on ships like the Skipper, which experts and U.S. officials say is part of a shadowy fleet of rusting oil tankers that smuggle oil for countries facing stiff sanctions, such as Venezuela, Russia, and Iran.
Shadow Fleet Expands Following US Sanctions
The vessels often transfer their cargoes to other ships while at sea, further obscuring their origins, experts said. For the most part, Maduro’s government has succeeded in using such tactics to get its oil to market. The country’s oil production has increased about 25% over the last two years, according to OPEC data.
However, Wednesday’s seizure could mark a turning point, experts said, foreshadowing a possible oil blockade that could deter smuggling from even some of the shipping industry’s worst actors. “The cost of doing business with Venezuela just went way up,” said Claire Jungman, director of maritime risk and intelligence at Vortexa, an oil analytics firm.
The Skipper’s Last Few Weeks
The Skipper’s final weeks hiding in the Caribbean were reconstructed by Windward, which uses satellite imagery relied on by U.S. officials mapping the movements of the dark fleet. The U.S. sanctioned the Skipper in November 2022, when it was known as the M/T Adisa, for its alleged role in a network of dark vessels smuggling crude on behalf of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group.
In recent months, the ship has sailed to China with a cargo of Iranian oil, and it has also been linked to illicit cargoes from Russia, according to Windward. At the time of its seizure, Windward reported, the tanker was digitally manipulating its tracking signals to falsely indicate it was navigating in a different location.
Experts Warn of Broader Consequences
The dark fleet expanded following U.S. sanctions on Russia over its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Experts say many of the ships are barely seaworthy, operate without insurance and are registered to shell companies that help conceal their ownership. The vessels often transfer their cargoes to other ships while at sea, further obscuring their origins, experts said.
The seizure could mark a turning point in the global effort to combat oil smuggling, experts warned. “These are very risk-tolerant operators, but even they don’t want to lose a hull,” said Michelle Weise Bockmann, a senior analyst at Windward, a maritime intelligence firm that tracks such vessels.
Original Article: US seizure of rogue oil tanker off Venezuela signals new crackdown on shadow fleet — Theoaklandpress