US forces have seized a tanker widely believed to be the VLCC Skipper, after satellite evidence showed the 310,000 dwt vessel covertly loaded 1.1m barrels of sanctioned Venezuelan Merey crude at the port of Jose – despite broadcasting falsified AIS positions placing it far away.
The Trump administration confirmed the operation on Wednesday, describing the target only as a “very large tanker, the largest one ever seized”, but multiple maritime intelligence groups – including Vanguard and Kpler – have identified the vessel as the Skipper, long linked to sanction-evasion trades spanning Venezuela, Iran and Asia. The Skipper, formerly called Adisa, operates under a false Guyanese flag.
The seizure follows weeks of US military build-up in the Caribbean, with an aircraft carrier, fighter jets and tens of thousands of troops deployed amid a renewed crackdown on dark fleet logistics supporting Caracas and Tehran. Venezuela’s crude exports fell to around 700,000 barrels per day in November.
Kpler imagery from November 14 clearly shows Skipper loading at Jose, contradicting AIS signals that placed the ship near Guyana’s Liza Destiny and Liza Unity FPSOs. Market reports indicate the vessel loaded 1.1m barrels of Merey on November 16, with Cuba listed as the destination and Cubametales as charterer.
The tanker has been repeatedly tied to falsified AIS trails, misdeclared cargoes and deceptive ship-to-ship activity. In July, Skipper transmitted positions suggesting a call at Iraq’s Basrah oil terminal, but satellite imagery checked by Kpler instead showed the ship at Iran’s Kharg Island loading crude under spoofed coordinates. After sailing east, it completed an STS transfer with the VLCC Luois off Hong Kong in August, a cargo later discharged in China under false paperwork claiming it was Angolan Girassol.
After looping back to Iranian waters, the tanker headed west, rounding the Cape of Good Hope before reappearing off Guyana and Suriname in late October – a typical dark fleet pattern designed to obscure provenance.
The US has not disclosed the ship’s current location or the status of its crew, but the capture marks one of Washington’s most significant enforcement actions against the shadow fleet, and casts Venezuela’s oil export capabilities into doubt.
U.S. troops seize sanctioned tanker “The Skipper” off Venezuela today. Loaded w/ Merey crude from José port. Trump: “Largest one ever seized.” Video shows boarding op amid Maduro sanctions. What are your thoughts on this action? #USMilitary #Venezuela #TankerSeizure #Trump pic.twitter.com/gawB8sEVVh
