US Seizes Nigerian-Linked Supertanker Over Suspected Crude Theft, Illegal Flagging

The United States Coast Guard, working alongside the US Navy, has detained a Nigerian-linked supertanker, Skipper, over allegations ranging from crude oil theft to piracy and other cross-border crimes.

The vessel — a 20-year-old Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) with IMO number 9304667 — is said to be owned and managed by Nigeria-based Thomarose Global Ventures Ltd. Its registered owner, however, is listed as Triton Navigation Corp. of the Marshall Islands.

Officials also noted that the tanker was unlawfully flying the Guyanese flag at the time of its interception.

Guyana’s Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) quickly issued a rebuttal, confirming that Skipper is not listed in its ship registry and had been using the nation’s flag without permission.

According to US security sources, the operation was carried out under American law enforcement authority, with President Donald Trump announcing the seizure. Beyond suspected crude theft, investigators are also looking into claims that the tanker was transporting a major haul of hard drugs and operating within a network linked to suspected Iranian and other Islamist-connected money-laundering financiers.

A check with Nigeria’s Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) revealed that Thomarose is inactive. Further findings by Vanguard indicate that the company’s address is recorded as 111 Jakpa Road, Effurun, Warri, Delta State, with CAC registration number 1007876 — though no phone contacts are registered.

Industry Reactions: “Weakness in Port State Control”

Commenting on the situation, Engr. Akin Olaniyan, President of the Centre for Marine Surveyors, Nigeria, said that if the tanker indeed departed from Nigeria before its arrest, it would expose lapses in the nation’s maritime 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.”

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 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.”

Ship Owners Association of Nigeria (SOAN) President, Otunba Sola Adewumi, said he could not comment yet, noting he needed more time to gather details on the vessel’s ownership and registration.

Former NIMASA Director-General, Mr. Temisan Omatseye, also said he had only just heard of the incident and could not provide an informed response.

NIMASA itself stated it had no official briefing on the matter. Its spokesperson, Mr. Edward Osagie, asked Vanguard to submit an official enquiry, promising it would be addressed appropriately.

A Port Harcourt–based energy analyst reacted, saying:
“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. 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.”

NEITI: Nigeria Lost 13.5m Barrels Worth $3.3bn to Theft, Sabotage

Earlier this year, revelations showed that Nigeria lost 13.5 million barrels of crude oil — valued at $3.3 billion — between 2023 and 2024 due to theft and pipeline vandalism. The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), Dr. Ogbonnaya Orji, disclosed this on October 7 at the 2025 Association of Energy Correspondents of Nigeria (NAEC) conference in Lagos.

He spoke under the theme “Nigeria’s Energy Future: Exploring Opportunities and Addressing Risks for Sustainable Growth.”

Orji explained that the lost revenue could have funded Nigeria’s entire annual health budget or provided energy access to millions of households.

He added that NEITI’s 2021–2022 Oil and Gas Industry Reports revealed Nigeria earned $23.04 billion in 2021 and $23.05 billion in 2022 from the sector. The reports also showed that N1.5 trillion is owed to the Federation by certain companies and government agencies — funds that could have bolstered national energy and healthcare infrastructure.

Orji further said:

“Over the past decade, NEITI has evolved from an auditing agency to a governance reform institution.
“We have institutionalised regular audits of oil, gas, and solid mineral sectors, tracking production, payments, and remediation; developed Nigeria’s Beneficial Ownership Register, unmasking the true owners of over 4,800 extractive assets, and helping the government combat corruption and illicit financial flows; and launched the NEITI Data Centre — a national open-data infrastructure that provides real-time public access to industry information.
“We have also strengthened partnerships with NUPRC, NMDPRA, and NCDMB to promote transparency in licensing, metering, and host community trust management, and introduced the Just Energy Transition and Climate Accountability Framework to ensure that Nigeria’s shift to cleaner energy is transparent, inclusive, and fair.”

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