The United States Coast Guard, in collaboration with the US Navy, has seized a Nigerian-owned supertanker, Skipper, over allegations of crude oil theft, piracy, and other transnational crimes.
The vessel, a 20-year-old Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) with IMO Number 9304667, is reportedly operated by Nigeria-based Thomarose Global Ventures Ltd., though official documents list Triton Navigation Corp. of the Marshall Islands as the registered owner.
Authorities said the tanker was found flying the Guyanese flag without authorization at the time it was intercepted. Guyana’s Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) later clarified that the vessel “is not on its registry and was using the Guyanese flag without approval.”
US security officials explained that the seizure was carried out under American law enforcement authority and was publicly disclosed by President Donald Trump.
Beyond suspicions of crude oil theft, investigators are also examining the tanker’s possible involvement in drug trafficking and potential links to a network reportedly funded by Iranian-affiliated and other Islamist-backed money-laundering groups.
A search at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) in Abuja revealed that Thomarose Global Ventures Ltd. is inactive. The company, registered with number 1007876, lists 111 Jakpa Road, Effurun, Warri, Delta State, as its address but has no contact numbers on record.
Reacting to the development, the president of the Centre for Marine Surveyors Nigeria, Engr. Akin Olaniyan, said the case raises concerns about regulatory oversight, especially if the tanker indeed departed from Nigerian waters.
“If the vessel emanated from Nigeria, it suggests that our Port State Control is practically nonexistent,” he said. “This is not about Nigeria as a nation but about enforcement of regulations.”
Similarly, the National President of the Oil and Gas Service Providers Association of Nigeria (OGSPAN), Mazi Colman Obasi, expressed surprise. “I have never heard that Nigeria owns a supertanker, let alone one that is inactive at the CAC. Government agencies can certainly do more,” he stated.
The President of the Ship Owners Association of Nigeria (SOAN), Otunba Sola Adewumi, said he needed more information before commenting, while former NIMASA Director-General, Mr. Temisan Omatseye, also noted that available details remain insufficient.
NIMASA spokesperson, Mr. Edward Osagie, said the agency had not received any official report and advised that a formal inquiry be submitted.
An energy analyst in Port Harcourt voiced concern that illegal activities in the oil sector persist despite the presence of regulatory agencies and private security contractors.
“All agencies need to do more than they currently do,” he said. “No country can progress when its own citizens continue to sabotage its resources.”
